Rural local governance and agricultural development in Taiwan

The study will also be useful to Americans trying to understand the problems of the poor Asian farmers. The conclusions are summarized here: (1) Over the past decades, there has been an impressive growth in agricultural production. (2) There has been an overall improvement in the standard of living for most rural people. A rather small segment of the rural population has experienced a large increase in wealth or power. Despite growth in agricultural production, farm expenses have gone up too, so that farm profits have been close to constant. The major source of growth in rural income has been non-farm income. (3) Success in agricultural development has many causes; favorable geographic conditions have been important. Also important is the lengthy period of development when Taiwan was a Japanese Colony, especially in the period after 1920. (4) Local institutions have been very important in generating agricultural change, and assuring that most rural people get some benefits from change. (5) The strength of local institutions seems to stem from the central political system in Taiwan, not from mass participation.