President Ma Ying-jeou met with 1996 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences Professor Sir James A. Mirrlees at the Presidential Office on the morning of October 8, and exchanged opinions with Professor Mirrlees on the current state of Taiwan's economic development.
The president first praised Professor Mirrlees for his outstanding contributions in the field of economic research, particularly in the areas of economic information, welfare economics, and the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information. President Ma commented that the financial tsunami two years ago triggered a global economic recession, putting considerable pressure on governments around the world. Nevertheless, Taiwan has weathered the crisis by cutting interest rates seven times, providing full protection of bank deposits, expanding infrastructure projects to spark domestic demand, and issuing spending vouchers. Taiwan is now on the road toward recovery, he said, pointing out that after hitting bottom at the end of last year, GPD growth in the first half of this year reached 13.1%. The president mentioned, however, that Taiwan still faces problems such as unemployment and unequal distribution of wealth.
President Ma noted that Taiwan's economy is highly reliant on external trade, with exports being the main driver of economic growth. In particular, the information and communications technology industry accounts for 50% of Taiwan's exports, he said. Consequently, Taiwan is highly vulnerable in the event of waning demand in the European and American markets. The president also commented that while Taiwan's economy is now growing, the wealth gap is steadily widening, which is causing some people to feel that they are not sharing in the fruits of economic growth. He stated that this is a problem the government must resolve. The president expressed his hopes that Professor Mirrlees will have a chance to engage in meaningful discussions with representatives from industry, academia, and the government on this trip and provide valuable suggestions on Taiwan's economy.
Professor Mirrlees was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Christina Y. Liu, Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, and Dr. Shin-Kun Peng, Director of the Academia Sinica Institute of Economics. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General John C.C. Deng.