Taiwanese Immigrants Research Articles

Problems in Paradise: Taiwanese Immigrants to Auckland, New Zealand

Migration from Asia to New Zealand is now a topic of heated public debate within New Zealand. This study traces the experiences of Taiwanese migrants to Auckland over the past decade and documents their adaption and revised expectations. By the end of June 1995, over 21,000 Taiwanese had been granted permanent residence in New Zealand on the basis of their skills, qualifications and work experience. Although expecting a fall in income as the necessary ‘price’ to pay for an improved quality of life, as well as some language difficulties, few immigrants were prepared for the magnitude of the drop in income, the hardship it would bring and the heavy reliance this would place on their remaining investments in Taiwan. The net result has been unemployment and underemployment of immigrants many of whom are now resigned to net gains through education coming not to them but to their children. As a result of the inability to secure adequate employment, many Taiwanese immigrants have relocated one or all of the family members back to Taiwan. The introduction in October 1995 of stricter English standards and the flatter, less academic basis to point earning qualifications, validation of job offers, recognition of New Zealand work experience together with the spouses’ human capital as well as a clearer commitment to New Zealand should all go some way to addressing many of the difficulties the history of recent Taiwanese immigration has uncovered.

Book Review: Chinatown No More: Taiwanese Immigrants in Contemporary New York

Book Review: Chinatown No More: Taiwanese Immigrants in Contemporary New York

Migrant selectivity and returns to skills: the case of Taiwanese immigrants in the United States.

"This article examines the selection of international migration from Taiwan to the United States in terms of the skills and abilities of emigrants. Micro data from Taiwan and the U.S. are used to test Borjas' self-selection model (1987).... Based on the assumption that emigrants choose to move to the destination that can maximize their expected lifetime earnings and provide higher returns to their human capital, Heckman (1979) developed a two-stage method that allows one to correct the problem of selectivity bias and to estimate directions of the selection on the basis of observed characteristics (the levels of skills or education) and unobserved characteristics (innate ability or motivation) for both emigrants and non-emigrants." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)

Beyond “Little Taipei”: The Development of Taiwanese Immigrant Businesses in Los Angeles

Both in their choice to settle in predominantly noncoethnic neighborhoods and in their economic development, recent Taiwanese immigrants in Los Angeles represent a fundamental break with the past. It is this new type of economic development that brings an unprecedented impact on the society at large. However, these unique features of Taiwanese immigrant business and their implications to the host society remain understudied. Quantitative as well as qualitative methods were employed in this study. The data were obtained from document files, field observations, in-depth interviews, U.S. census data, and a telephone survey of 310 Taiwanese business owners in the greater Los Angeles area. The data analysis closely examined entrepreneurial process, ethnic integration, and industrial diversity among Taiwanese immigrant businesses. Provided with entrepreneurial capacity, Taiwanese enterprises grow rapidly within the context of Los Angeles's economic restructuring and dependency on Asian Pacific trade.

Beyond "Little Taipei": The Development of Taiwanese Immigrant Businesses in Los Angeles

Beyond "Little Taipei": The Development of Taiwanese Immigrant Businesses in Los Angeles