Information economy and inequality: Wage polarization, unemployment, and occupation transition in Taiwan since 1980

Wei-Ching Wang

Journal of Asian Economics, 2009, vol. 20, issue 2, 120-136

Abstract: This paper examines whether Taiwan's economic inequality has worsened as Taiwan has evolved into an information economy, a transformation which began around 1980. The paper explores this relationship by investigating three specific research questions. First, has there been a rise in wage inequality in Taiwan since 1980; and if so, what are the sources of this rise in inequality? Second, has the transition to an information economy contributed to a rise in unemployment rates? And third, what type of occupational structural transformation occurred during this transition? The paper shows that since 1980, wage inequality, unemployment, and the white-collar-blue-collar worker employment ratio have all sharply increased in Taiwan. Furthermore, the reasons for these changes seem closely related to the relative growth of the information economy.

Keywords: Information; economy; Information; intensive; industry; Wage; inequality; Unemployment; Occupation; transformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:asieco:v:20:y:2009:i:2:p:120-136

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