Institute of Economics

The Institute of Economics was formally established in February 1970 in Nankang, Taipei, after a preparatory stage of eight years. Its mandated goals are to conduct scientific research in economics, to foster research interest and to coordinate research activities in research institutions and universities in the Republic of China. The Institute of Economics enjoys academic independence. Researchers have no teaching burden, and are quaranteed complete freedom in conducting research of their own interest.

RESEARCH

The mandated goals of the Institute of Economics are to conduct scientific research in economic theories and their applications, and to study the economic development problems and related policy issues in Taiwan. The research areas are as follows: General Economics, Economic Theory, Mathematical Economics, Econometrics, Industrial Economics, Agricultural Economics, Welfare Economics, Regional Economics, Health Economics, Environmental Economics and Natural Resources, Money and Finance, Public Economics, International Economics, Economic History, Economic Development, Labor and Demographic Economics.

The areas are grouped into four divisions.

Division 1 covers the areas of general economics, economic theory, mathematical economics and econometrics. The main tasks of this division are to develop economic theories and methods, and to conduct economic forecasts and policy analyses. Workshops on current domestic economic issues, problems, and policies are held at least twice a year. In addition to the Taiwan economic forecasts, the papers presented in the workshops and their comments are published in the Institute's journal \AS;Taiwan Economic Forecasts and Policies.

Division 2 covers the areas of industrial economics, agricultural economics, welfare economics, regional eco-nomics, health economics, environmental economics and natural resources. Both theories and empirical studies are emphasized in this division. However, since Taiwan suffers severe problems of environmental pollution and natural resource depletion, especially water shortages, efforts also have been placed on studying subjects related to environmental protection, climate changes, resource management and land use in Taiwan. Furthermore, the subjects related to public health and insurance also received great attention as the national health insurance program has been implemented in Taiwan. At present, there are several research projects financially supported by National Science Council, Council of Agriculture, and Environmental Protection Administration. The conclu-sions of these research projects will be published in related academic journals.

Division 3 focuses on the studies of monetary eco-nomics, public economics, international economics. Currently, the division's staff are pursuing their research on: a general equilibrium to the Taiwan financial system, export, economic scale and productivity, the impact of real estate demand increase on economic growth, trade and pollution, an investigation of the relationship between money and prices in Taiwan, consumption, current income and interest rates in Taiwan, an optimal commodity taxes in new Keynesian model.

Division 4 covers three major areas of interest: economic history, economic development, labor and demography economies, and empirical studies. The research projects undertaken right now include research on environmental history, dynamic analysis of longitudinal planning, family labor supply, and the effects of family events on individual education, employment and income.

PERSONNEL AND FACILITIES

PERSONNEL

The Institute has 21 research fellows, 16 associate research fellows, 9 assistant research fellows, 2 research assistants and 1 assistant, and 7 administrative staff.

LIBRARY

Library

The Institute maintains a research library that contains books, statistical reports, leading journals and reference works in the field of economics and related sciences. The library currently houses over 5,850 volumes in Chinese, and 22,770 volumes in foreign languages, mostly English. There are subscriptions of 425 foreign economic peri-odicals and 268 local economic journals. There is also a small collection of microfilms.

EQUIPMENT

Periodical Room

The Institute maintains a Statistical Laboratory equipped with a computer system that consists of 90 personal computers; 63 printers; 4 computer terminals; 2 Mac-intoshs; personal workstation (Next-station); Novell File Server (Compaq ProSignia 500 5/120); Novell v. 3.12 Network system; Optinet v. 2.0 CD-ROM Network System; a MEMOREX TELEX 1174 controller; a pair of REMOTE BOXES.

This system is connected with Internet directly, and with several local networks: SUN690, RS6000, SPARC 10, Convex3420, etc., at the Computing Center of Academia Sinica; IBM ES9000 at Directorate - General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

MAJOR RESULTS OF RESEARCH

The Institute of Economics

Our research in the last two years can be summarized into the following four categories:

INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH

There are 278 papers published in academic journals, 26 discussion papers in Chinese, 65 discussion papers in English, and 51 research project reports.

PUBLICATIONS

In the last two years, the Institute has published:

1. Academia Economic Papers (periodical): volume 22, No. 2 to volume 24, No. 1.
2. Taiwan Economic Forecasts and Policies (periodical): volume 25, No. 2 to volume 27, No. 1.
3. Conference Proceedings: 2 volumes.
4. Monograph Series: 3 volumes.
5. Economic Studies Series: 1 volume.
6. Discussion Papers (in Chinese): 17 volumes.
7. Discussion Papers (in English): 34 volumes.
8. Special Reprint Series: 14 volumes.

WORKSHOPS, SYMPOSIA AND CONFERENCES

In the last two years, five symposia were held at the Institute, as follows:

• 1994 Conference of Economic Research Projects Funded by National Science Council, 1995
• Conference on Population, Employment and Welfare, 1995
• Taiwan Macro-Econometric Models Workshop, 1995
• Conference on the Fiscal Impact of Pension Funds
• A Review of Resource Management and Policy, 1995

Also, three international conferences were held at the Institute:

• The 14th Pacific Regional Science Conference, 1995
• Conference on Asian Population History, 1996
• International Conference on Growth and Development: Implications from and to Asian Pacific Economies. Regular workshops have also been held once or twice a week in the Institute.

RESEARCH STAFF

MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE