TAIWAN: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTùINWARD AND OUTWARD
This research assess the implications for international management of foreign direct investmentùboth inward and outwardùinvolving the Republic of China (Taiwan). The focal period of this assessment is 1993-1997. The foreign direct investment into and out of Taiwan during this period is presented in Table 1, which may be found below on this page.
Foreign Direct Investment: Taiwanù1993-1997
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, 1997.
As the data presented in Table 1 indicate, Taiwan's outward forward direct investment far exceeds the country's inward foreign direct investment. A part of this difference is explainable by what has been termed Taiwan's "check book diplomacy" (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 117). An important part of this difference, however, is explainable by the policies of the Taiwanese government that discourage direct foreign investment in Taiwan (Pierson 1170). The target regions for Taiwan's outward direct foreign investment and the source regions of Taiwan's inward direct foreign investment are identified in Tables 2 and 3, respectively, which may be found below on this page.
Target Regions for Outward Foreign Direct Investment
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 1997.
Source Regions of Inward Foreign Direct Investment
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 1997.
Taiwan is one of the world's most rapidly developing economies (World Bank 241). Taiwan pursued economic growth in the 1970s and 1980s primarily through the development of its export trade, and the country has continued this approach in the 1990s (Terry 190). While Taiwan has sought external capital for its economic development during this time period, the country typically dissuades direct foreign investment (Organization for Economi...