President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of September 23 with 2004 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences Laureate Dr. Edward Prescott and Robeco Group Chief Executive Officer Roderick Munsters at the Presidential Office. The visitors are in Taiwan to attend the 2010 International Economy and Finance Forum. The president extended a warm welcome to them on behalf of the government and people of the ROC.
The president remarked that Dr. Prescott co-authored the book Barriers to Riches with Stephen Parente, and cited a passage in which the authors state that poor nations are unable to become rich because they introduce barriers that block efficient production. President Ma said that this thought-provoking statement made a deep impression on him. Meanwhile, Mr. Munsters' expertise is in asset investment and management. He is especially experienced with pension funds, and Taiwan has much to learn from him, the president said.
Commenting on the current state of Taiwan's economy, the president noted that the world was hit by a financial tsunami two years ago, and the government here responded by cutting interest rates seven times, issuing spending vouchers to the public, adopting a blanket guarantee for all bank deposits, and implementing policies to expand domestic demand and stimulate the economy. This, he said, enabled Taiwan to gradually emerge from the economic downturn. Taiwan achieved an economic growth rate of 13.1% in the first half of this year, and economic growth for the year is expected to be 8.24%. Taiwan's stock market has performed quite well, but the president also noted that while the economy has gradually recovered and improvement has been seen in the job market, much remains to be done.
President Ma said that the wealth gap has become a matter of widespread concern in Taiwan, and stated that the government is striving to strengthen social welfare measures to reduce the gap. Meanwhile, Taiwan's society is aging and the birth rate is low, which he said will negatively impact economic development down the road. The president said that the government is making every effort to mitigate the negative impact of these trends.
Dr. Prescott, Mr. Munsters, and others attending the forum were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General John C.C. Deng to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was Christina Y. Liu, Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development.