Curriculum Taiwan's Economy
Taiwan's Economy
How a small island became essential to the world's technology: an overview, "land to the tiller" reform, export-driven small firms, Morris Chang and TSMC, Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwanese investment in China, Foxconn, stagnant wages, the energy dilemma, cross-strait risk and investment in India.
- Taiwan at a Glance An overview of Taiwan's economy - its high-tech exports, income levels and outsized role in global semiconductor supply chains. 📄 Read-aloud
- Land to the Tiller: Taiwan's Land Reform How Taiwan's land reforms of 1949-53 cut rents, sold public land and transferred land to tenant farmers, boosting farm output and equality. 📄 Read-aloud
- Small Firms, Big Exports How Taiwan's export boom was driven by many small and medium family firms in flexible networks, unlike South Korea's giant chaebol. 📄 Read-aloud
- Morris Chang and the TSMC Story How Morris Chang founded TSMC in 1987 with government backing and pioneered the foundry model of making chips for other companies, becoming the world's most important chipmaker. 📄 Read-aloud
- Hsinchu Science Park How Taiwan built Hsinchu Science Park in 1980 near research institutes and universities, attracting returning engineers and creating a tech cluster. 📄 Read-aloud
- Taiwanese Firms in China How Taiwanese businesses invested heavily in mainland China from the 1990s, building factories in coastal cities, and how rising tensions led to diversification. 📄 Read-aloud
- Taiwan's Economy: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on Taiwan's economy, land reform, SMEs, TSMC and Hsinchu. 5 questions
- Foxconn and Contract Manufacturing How Foxconn, founded by Terry Gou, became the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer by assembling iPhones and other devices, and its expansion into India. 📄 Read-aloud
- Stagnant Wages and Housing Costs Why Taiwanese wages grew slowly for years despite strong exports, why housing became unaffordable, and the effects on young people and birth rates. 📄 Read-aloud
- Taiwan's Energy Dilemma How energy-hungry chip fabs strain Taiwan's power supply, why Taiwan phased out nuclear power in 2025, and its reliance on imported LNG. 📄 Read-aloud
- The Economics of Cross-Strait Risk Why a conflict or blockade around Taiwan would have enormous global economic costs due to its chip dominance, and how companies and governments are hedging. 📄 Read-aloud
- Taiwanese Investment in India How Taiwanese companies like Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and PSMC are investing in India's electronics and semiconductor industries, and the growing economic ties. 📄 Read-aloud
- Lessons from Taiwan What Taiwan teaches about land reform, small firms, industrial policy, specialisation and concentration risk, and a recap of the module. 📄 Read-aloud