Several Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professors yesterday encouraged Taiwan to use its strengths in technological innovation to become a leader in the clean technology industry and “put Taiwan on the map.”
Barry Lam (林百里), chairman of Quanta Computer and the Epoch Foundation, invited 20 academics, researchers and Taiwanese corporate leaders to a forum organized by the foundation.
The non-profit organization, founded by Lester Thurow, a professor of management and economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management, celebrated its 20th anniversary yesterday.
Although countries such as the US are faced with high unemployment rates and a staggering economy that is still struggling with the effects of the financial crisis, he was not too worried, Thurow said.
“Recessions are normal. There is nothing to worry about,” he said.
What the US should be concerned about, however, is its soaring federal deficit, he said. Tackling the deficit was the only way to address the root of the country’s economic problems, he said.
Aside from economic issues in the West, attendees had high expectations for Taiwan as well, highlighting its world-class supply chains, sophisticated energy users and innovative technology industry.
Donald Lessard, professor of international management at MIT Sloan, said Taiwan was a relatively compact country with good transportation systems and substantial cooling and industrial energy needs, and that its innovative abilities could help it lead the clean tech market in Asia or even in the world.
“There’s no reason why Taiwan can’t be a lead market for clean tech in Asia,” he said.
With the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and increased interdependence with China, Taiwan must be an early adopter of carbon pricing to help put itself “on the map,” he said.
Speakers also focused on the transformation of China’s economy.
Edward Steinfeld, associate professor of political economy at MIT, said it was an imperative to “get China right.”
When many people talk about global economics, they think about autonomous, geopolitical issues such as bilateral trade and currencies, which is an inappropriate way to think about some major issues, he said.
Ninety percent of the high-tech products assembled in China and exported to the rest of the world are produced by foreign-owned companies and that Chinese production symbolizes intense specialization, he said.
“China has tailored its institutions and developed a trajectory to modular production, pushed by global companies,” he said, adding that as a result, China’s domestic governance inevitably has to change.
“China must find new ways to get voluntary compliance from its citizens,” he said, adding that this is a pattern that was seen in Taiwan as it became a developed economy.
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