Asset-Based Welfare: Taipei Family Development Accounts
On July 17, 2000, Taipei City Government launched Taipei Family Development Accounts (Taipei FDAs), based on the idea of Individual Development Accounts, matched saving accounts for one hundred low-income families of the City. As traditional social assistance programs are basically income-based, Taipei FDAs is the first established program that is assets-based and investment oriented in Taipei. It is also the first anti-poverty program that was funded by a private firm through a collaborative partnership between the public sector and a profit organization to build up assets for the poor. Although the implementation of Taipei FDAs is intended to be experimental, its establishment has valuable policy implications in terms of anti-poverty policy innovation in Taiwan.
This paper starts with a brief introduction of Taipei FDAs. It is followed by a description on the process of policy formulation. Then public debates on its establishment between proponents and opponents are paired presented in the next section. Lastly, lessons that learned from the policy innovation of Taipei FDAs are included.
