Regulatory Diversification and the Monitoring State: The Direction of Environmental Regulation in Taiwan

Rapid industrialization in Taiwan in the latter half of the twentieth century resulted in dramatic increases in industrial pollution and municipal waste, leaving few places on the small island spared from severe pollution. Public pollution protests in the 1970s and 1980s both contributed to and increased with the liberalization of Taiwanese society. With the end of martial law in 1987 and subsequent creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, Taiwan adopted a command and control regulatory scheme that achieved limited success. From the 1980s onward, the Taiwanese government came to rely upon the participation of a greater number and variety of stakeholders in the pollution regulation process; a trend made necessary by the economic realities of environmental regulation in an economy dominated by small and medium sized enterprises. As a result, Taiwan\u27s environmental regulatory regime is characterized by shared responsibility for environmental regulation across government sectors, between central and local governments, and between the public and private sectors. Diversification of regulation, supplemented with moderate government intervention, will be most likely to increase effectiveness of pollution regulation. The benefits of this approach include potential reductions in the cost of regulation and compliance, increased data collection and distribution, and cultivation of more collaborative relationships among industry, regulators, and the public. In contrast, the greater number and variety of stakeholders participating in environmental regulation introduces potential conflicts of interest, resulting in new inefficiencies, and requiring continued government interference in the role of auditor and coordinator. Nevertheless, the Taiwanese have embraced democracy and the involvement of a diverse array of interest organizations. This, coupled with the expense of pollution regulation, leads to the conclusion that Taiwan\u27s practice of distributing responsibilities for pollution regulation across multiple stakeholders will be the norm for the foreseeable future

What Permits Small Firms to Compete in High-Tech Industries? Inter-Organizational Knowledge Creation in the Taiwanese Computer Industry

This paper addresses a puzzle related to firm size and competition. Since Stephen Hymer´s pioneering contribution (Hymer, 1960/1976), theories of the firm implicitly assume that only large, diversified multinational enterprises can compete in industries that combine high capital intensity, high knowledge-intensity and a high degree of internationalization. Small firms, by definition, have limited resources and capabilities and are unlikely to possess substantial ownership advantages. They also have a limited capacity to influence and shape the development of markets, market structure and technological change. One would thus expect that they are ill-equipped to compete in a knowledge-intensive industry that is highly globalized. Taiwan’s experience in the computer industry tells a different story: despite the dominance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Taiwan successfully competes in the international market for PC-related products, key components and knowledge-intensive services. The paper inquires into how this was possible. It is argued that organizational innovations related to the creation of knowledge are of critical importance. Taiwanese computer firms were able to develop their own distinctive approach: due to their initially very narrow knowledge base, access to external sources of knowledge has been an essential prerequisite for their knowledge creation. Such “inter-organizational knowledge creation” (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) was facilitated by two factors: active, yet selective and continuously adjusted industrial development policies; and a variety of linkages with large Taiwanese business groups, foreign sales and manufacturing affiliates and an early participation in international production networks established by foreign electronics companies. A novel contribution of this paper is its focus on inter-organizational knowledge creation. I first describe Taiwan´s achievements in the computer industry. The dominance of SMEs and their role as a source of flexibility is documented in part II. Part III describes some policy innovations that have shaped the process of knowledge creation. The rest of the paper inquires how inter-organizational knowledge creation has benefited from a variety of linkages with large domestic and foreign firms; I also address some industrial upgrading requirements that result from this peculiar type of knowledge creation.knowledge creation; learning; small firms; networks; firm strategy; industrial policies;

A Comparative Study of the Formation and Development of Air & Water Pollution Control Laws in Taiwan and Japan

Taiwan and Japan have faced similar environmental problems at comparable stages in their economic development, and have passed through similar stages in the development of their systems of environmental law. Three phases in the development of environmental law making are distinguished: preparatory, formative and developed. This article compares the relative progress of Taiwan and Japan through these stages, and suggests that Taiwan may benefit by studying Japan\u27s analogous prior experiences with pollution prevention and environmental law

The training and development of high technology specialists in science-based companies a comparative study: the United Kingdom and Taiwan

This thesis aims to examine the training and development of high technology specialists in science-based companies. It is a comparative study focused on the UK and Taiwan, The study examines through case studies, the cultural, historical and global economic factors which have a decisive impact on the development of training policies in companies. The study identifies areas of new research and action required to improve the training potential of companies employing specialist staff

The Taiwan Consumer Protection Law: Attempt to Protect Consumers Proves Ineffective

Consumer protection is a relatively new social issue in Taiwan. With the passage of the Taiwan Consumer Protection Law ( CPL ), the government of Taiwan has taken a tremendous step towards the protection of its consumers\u27 rights. However, industry leaders as well as consumers have voiced concerns over many of the provisions and terms in the CPL. Consumers have not taken advantage of the CPL as a means of legal recourse for product-related injuries, and industry groups have asked the government to reexamine particular aspects of the CPL. Such reaction has essentially rendered the CPL an unproductive piece of legislation

The Role of PIDS and Its Contribution to Research and Policymaking in the Philippines

Established in 1977, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has been an important research resource in the country. It has served to bring together an unprecedented concentration of intellectual minds from institutions and organizations all over the country and abroad--to engage in an independent agenda that has generated a prolific body of work with a strong orientation and focus on policy. But how effective has this been? The author gives a brisk overview of why the wealth of insights and recommendations have not translated into enhanced developmental outcomes and laments that Philippine governments since at least Macapagal and Marcos have never built on each other--they "just selectively chose what they liked, not what the country needed."policy research, Philippine development