Beginning in the 1950s, Tawian rapidly industrialized, becoming a tributary to an increasingly "borderless" East Asian economy. And though President Trump has called for the end of "American carnage"-the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs-domestic retailers and merchandisers still willingly ship production overseas, primarily to Taiwan. In this book, Gary G. Hamilton and Cheng-shu Kao show how Taiwanese businesspeople have played a tremendous, unsung role in their nation's continuing ascent. From prominent names like Pou Chen and Hon Hai to the owners of small and midsize firms, Taiwan's contract manufacturers have become the world's most sophisticated suppliers of consumer products the world over. Drawing on over 30 years of research and more than 800 interviews, Hamilton and Kao tell these industrialists' stories. The picture that emerges is one of agile neo-capitalists, caught in the flux of a rapidly changing landscape, who tirelessly endeavor to profit on it. Making Money reveals its subjects to be at once producers of economic globalization and its byproducts. While the future of Taiwanese business is uncertain, the durability of demand-led capitalism is not.
"This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the tremendous changes in post-World War II capitalism, the way that American consumers and Asian producers have become inextricably linked. The authors make a compelling case that this transformation leads back to rationalization-on a global scale-in the name of the firm and its profits."
Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation
"With Taiwan's role in the global economy mainly confined to contract manufacturing and component production-rather than selling brand-name products-the island's importance has gone nearly undetected. Even more invisible has been the role of Taiwan-based companies in China's "manufacturing miracle." This in-depth and authoritative study elevates Taiwan to its rightful position and, in doing so, re
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Hamilton and Kao are the only scholars who could tell such a comprehensive and in-depth story about Taiwan's export-oriented manufacturing sector from its 1960s origins to the present. They situate this seemingly small story in the context of Chinese business and culture, East Asian development, and the global political economy-illustrating why it is a big deal. A masterful contribution."
Johns Hopkins University, author of The China Boom
