Profile

Tain-Jy Chen is a senior professor of economics at TSE, and also a professor emeritus of National Taiwan University. In addition to teaching, he has previously served as the president of Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, a think tank specializing in economic policy studies, and also in the Taiwan government, as the minister for Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) and National Development Council (NDC). This experience gives him wide exposures to policy formations and implementations. As an economist, his research interests are in economic development and trade policies. He earned a Ph.D. degree in economics in 1983 from Pennsylvania State University. He has published extensively in academic journals, mostly in the fields of trade, investment, and industrial development. His recent work focuses on industrial development of China and the US-China trade war.

Research Interests

• Economic development
• International trade
  
  

Awards and Honors

Selected Publication

Books

• Robert Baldwin, Tain-Jy Chen, and Douglas Nelson, 1995, Political Economy of U.S.-Taiwan Trade, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
• Tain-Jy Chen, 1998, (editor and Chief author), Taiwanese Firms in Southeast Asia: Networking Across Borders, Cheltenham (UK): Edward Elgar.
• Tain-Jy Chen and Lawrence Liu, 1998, Contribution to The Role of Law and Legal Institutions in Asian Economic Development, (chief authors Katharina Pistor and Phillip Wellons), New York: Oxford University Press.
• Tain-Jy Chen and Joseph Lee (eds.), 2004, The New Knowledge Economy of Taiwan, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
• Mitsuo Matsushita, Dukgeun Ahn and Tain-Jy Chen (eds.), 2006, The WTO Trade Remedy System: East Asian Perspectives, London: Cameron May.

Book Chapter

• Tain-Jy Chen, 2008, “The Emergence of Hsinchu Science Park as an IT Cluster,” in Shahid Yusuf, Kaoru Nabeshima, and Shoichi Yamashita (eds.), Growing Industrial Clusters in Asia: Serendipity and Science, Washington DC: World Bank, pp. 67-89.

Journal Articles

• Tain-Jy Chen, Hsien-Yang Su, 1995, “On-the-Job Training as a Cause of Brain Drain,” Weltwirtsch Archiv, Band 131, pp.526-541.
• Tain-Jy Chen and Grace Wu, 1996, “Determinants of Foreign Divestment: The Case of Taiwan,” Weltwirtsch Archiv, Band 132, pp.172-184.
• Homin Chen and Tain-Jy Chen, 1998, “Foreign Direct Investment as a Strategic Linkage,” Thunderbird International Business Review, vol.40:1, pp.13-30.
• Tain-Jy Chen and Meng-Chun Liu, 1998, “Production Networks and Patterns of Trade: Evidence from Taiwan,” Pacific Economic Review, vol.3:1, pp.49-69.
• Homin Chen and Tain-Jy Chen, 1998, “Network Linkages and Location Choice in Foreign Direct Investment,” Journal of International Business Studies, 29:3, pp.445-468.
• Tain-Jy Chen and Ying-Hua Ku, 2000, “Foreign Direct Investment and Firm Growth: The Case of Taiwan’s Manufacturers,” Japan and the World Economy, 12, 153-172.
• Homin Chen and Tain-Jy Chen, 2002, “Asymmetric Strategic Alliances: A Network View,” Journal of Business Research, vol.55, pp.1007-1013.
• Homin Chen and Tain-Jy Chen, 2003, “Governance Structures in Strategic Alliances: Transaction Cost versus Resource-based Perspective,” Journal of World Business, 38(1), pp.1-14.
• Tain-Jy Chen, 2003, “Network Resources for Internationalization: The Case of Taiwan’s Electronics Firms,” Journal of Management Studies, 40(5), pp.1107-1130.
• Tain-Jy Chen, Homin Chen, and Ying-Hua Ku, 2004, “Foreign Direct Investment and Local Linkages,” Journal of International Business Studies, 35(4), 320-333.
• Tain-Jy Chen, 2006, “Liability of Foreignness and Entry Mode Choice: Taiwanese Firms in Europe,” Journal of Business Research, 59(2), 288-294.
• Tain-Jy Chen, Homin Chen, Ying-Hua Ku, 2012, “Resource Dependency and Parent-Subsidiary Capability Transfer,” Journal of World Business, 47(2), 259-266.
• Tain-Jy Chen and Ying-Hua Ku, 2014, “Indigenous Innovation vs. Teng-long Huan-niao: Policy Conflicts in the Development of China’s Flat Panel Industry,” Industrial and Corporate Change, 23(6): 1445-67.
• Tain-Jy Chen, 2016, “The Development of China’s Solar Photovoltaic Industry: Why Industrial Policy Failed,” Cambridge Journal of Economics, 40(3): 755-774.
• Tain-Jy Chen and Ying-Hau Ku, 2016, “Rent seeking and entrepreneurship: internet startups in China,” Cato Journal, 36(3):659-688.
  
  

Teaching

• Political Economy of the Semiconductor Industry

Semester: Fall 2024 | 11310TSE 604200  | 3 credits 
Module: 
Abstract
The semiconductor industry has become strategically important in economic growth and international relations. This course is designed to demystify the complexity of the global semiconductor industry in terms of technological development, market competition, geopolitics, and interactions of national policies. It is an interdisciplinary course bringing together the knowledge of engineering, management, economics, and political science. The course is divided into five parts and to be taught by five instructors, with each instructor covering a part for three weeks. The rest of the time will be used for class organization and evaluations. The five parts are (1) development of the semiconductor industry, (2) characteristics and evolutions of the global semiconductor market, (3) case studies of East Asian semiconductor companies, (4) technology policies pertinent to the semiconductor industry in East Asia, (5) geo-politics and geo-economics in the semiconductor industry.

• Asian Economic Development in Comparative Perspective

Semester: Spring 2025 | 11320TSE 601100 | 2 credits 
Module: MAPE Core & MED Core
Abstract
We study the contributions of institutions to economic development in East Asia from a comparative perspective. Four countries will be featured in the comparative study: Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and China. Two major institutions will be examined: business organization and financial institutions. On business organization, we will compare and contrast the distinctive patterns of business organizations in these countries and study their impacts on the path of economic development, as well as the effectiveness of various policies under this structure, including trade and industrial policies. On financial institution, we will compare the roles of banks, non-bank lending institutions, and other financial institutions, in these countries and examine their impacts on capital formation and industry evolution over time. These two institutions are interrelated, and they together determine the long-term competitiveness in these countries and shape the business strategies.