The Role of Agricultural and Female Labor Mobility in Taiwan??S Industrialization: 1976-91
Posted: 19 Jan 2001
Abstract
The period 1976-91 in Taiwan was one of rapid economic growth. Agricultural employment fell from 29% to 13% of the workforce, while the employment rate for prime-age females increased from 43% to 55%. These figures suggest widespread net movements of labor out of agriculture. In reality the net increase in nonagricultural jobs was filled by new labor-market entrants, not by net transfers of labor out of agriculture. Some women from agricultural households transferred into manufacturing. However, their role in fueling the industrial labor boom was dwarfed by the employment increases for women from nonagricultural households.
JEL Classification: O15, O53
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation