Building Assets for the Poor as a Strategy to Social Inclusion
Taiwan became one of the fast-growing “four tigers” in the East Asian area during 1960s. Since the mid-1990s, Taiwan has suffered sluggish economic growth as a result of an economic breakdown in 1997. Consequently, the economic growth was slowed down and a sharp decline in asset values, falling real wages, and rising unemployment rates were witnessed. Years of neglect in providing social security to the needy citizens by the government have devastatingly impacted the disadvantaged citizens, for example the poor and the children, during this staggering economic recession. This paper outlines the growing economic disparity in assets between the rich and the poor after the economic recession and discusses the impacts of two programs that building assets for the poor. Implications for policy innovation were included.
