education, six years of education became compulsory on Taiwan in 1950. This was remarkable enough, but more remarkable still in the troubled history of developing economies was that this edict was actually carried out within just a few years. Especially impressive were enrollment rates for girls, which surpassed 90% for those aged 6 to 11 by 1956. (The comparable figure for boys in that year was over 96%.) Emphasis on girls' education is one of the most important factors in successful development, if not the single most vital factor, as the case of girls' education in Pakistan demonstrates (see Case 16).
When compulsory education was expanded to a full nine years in 1968, there were doubts that the economy could afford it. Today, while nine years remains a remarkable minimum educational standard for any developing economy, plans are being considered to expand compulsory schooling to twelve years.
Some other features are: Students go to school seven hours per day, for five and one-half days per week. In 1992-93, the student-teacher ratio was just 26 for elementary school, 21 for junior high, and 22 each for academic and vocational high schools. Teacher salaries are relatively high, comparable to lower-middle management in Taiwan. The U.S. was Taiwan's model for general education and Japan for vocational education. Greater emphasis is placed on general rather than job-specific skills. But incentives for close relationships between education and business are also stressed. In one innovative program, vocational high school teachers are paid to work in industry during the summer months to stimulate the development of curriculum relevant to industry's current needs. Tax breaks are given for company donations of personnel and equipment to schools.
Assuming the world development community is serious in its Millennium Development Goal of enrolling all children in six years of elementary school by 2015, it could do far worse than to study the early experience of Taiwan, where despite some glitches enrollment was real and not just on paper, students generally remained in school after they enrolled, teachers actually showed up for class and taught seriously, and corruption was kept to a minimum. The contrast in most of these respects to today’s low-income countries is all too striking.
Extensive infrastructure development. Development of infrastructure has been widely cited as a crucial factor in successful development by economists such as Paul Rosenstein-Rodan and Albert Hirschman. A major highway, for example, is argued to represent a "growth pole" around which industrial and commercial development can consolidate and grow. From the period of Japanese colonial rule (1905-1945), Taiwan inherited an infrastructure system that was far superior to that of most poor countries. The Japanese built roads, ports, and railroads to facilitate
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