ABSTRACT
As a colony from 1895 to 1945, Taiwan experienced rapid and sustained growth. In explaining Taiwan's surprising economic development under colonial rule, most scholars have considered Japanese colonialism to be an anomaly that generated rather than hindered economic development in the colonies. They emphasize the convergent tendency between Japan and its colonies, particularly Taiwan and Korea, highlighting either the transplantation of Japanese socioeconomic structures in, or the transfer of Japan's own developmental experiences to, the colonies. They stress in particular a development-oriented style of colonial management characterized by both effective state intervention in planning economic development and heavy state expenditures on social overhead capital and agricultural infrastructure. After 1925, there was a rupture in the pattern of peripheral capitalism in colonial Taiwan. During the period of accelerating industrialization and urbanization during and after World War I, the rapid increase in the demand for rice in Japan induced the growth of export rice production in Taiwan.
