Competition Policy: One Theory, Three Systems. Neither China nor Hong Kong are likely to adopt workable competition laws in the near future. The Taiwan experience is positive
There are few subjects more important to governments than economic growth and development; the key question is how best to achieve them. The governments of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are no different to other jurisdictions is this respect. All three entities now subscribe, to a greater or lesser extent, to market-orientated solutions to economic problems. But few governments are prepared to tolerate a complete laissez faire economy. All governments seek to regulate their economies to some ex...
Taiwan: Democracy's gone awry?
In March 2000 when Chen Shui-bian was elected president his supporters were elated and optimistic about Taiwan having truly attained democracy. Many scholars also saw the event as significant, marking the consolidation of Taiwan's democratization effort. Soon, however, many became disappointed. Cynicism grew. Opinion polls showed declining support for the President, the legislature, political parties and politics in general. Even democracy was questioned. The causes for this were: (1) Taiwan's mixed political system, which was not ready for the opposition to become the ruling party; (2) Taiwan's style of democracy was copied from America's, in some way wrongly. This made it a system that did not fit an Asian country and allowed for ethnic politics and some other undesirable aspects of democracy to evolve; (3) the Chen Administration ignored the importance of economic development. When the economy deteriorated he sought other ways to remain in power; this further led to a deterioration of politics and hurt the image of the government.
Trade, exchange rate, and agricultural pricing policies in Thailand
Thailand is still largely an agricultural country. In 1984, agricultural work was still the main source of earnings for more than 70 percent of the population. For much of the 25 year period covered by this report, government intervention in the prices of rice, maize, and natural rubber was extensive. For these products, intervention took the form of explicit export taxes and restrictive quotas. Sugar, on the other hand, was imported until 1960. For many years prior to that, government policy was to encourage growers and thus achieve self-sufficiency. One conclusion of this study is that the Thai sugar industry would have shrunk dramatically if the government had refrained from intervention. Intervention in the prices of rice and natural rubber had the effect of penalizing farm producers by reducing their output prices. There was, as a consequence a shift of resources towards Thailand's small industrial sector. In 1981, the Thai government lifted its quota restrictions, and liberalized its trade by eliminating its intervention in the maize, rice, sugar and natural rubber markets. Unfortunately for export growers, however, the gradual elimination of intervention was overshadowed by sharp declines in the world prices of Thailand's major agricultural exports.