Upon relocating to Taiwan in 1949 from the Chinese mainland, the Chinese Nationalist regime overhauled its party, government, and military and set about rebuilding the island's shattered economy. Despite facing a precarious situation at the outset, including a shortage of foreign exchange, the threat of invasion by the People's Republic of China, and with few allies, the Nationalists oversaw the creation of what today is one of the Pacific's most stable governments and its second most powerful economy.; At the heart of Taiwan's so-called economic miracle was a set of import-export policies which promoted a reduction in foreign exchange spending and an increase of export earnings through the expansion of the private industrial sector. The government took the lead in devising import-export policy, placing specific decision making power during the first eight years of recovery in the hands of a highly centralized, authoritative body, the Economic Stabilization Board (ESB).; Chosen to staff the ESB was a small, select group of Nationalist techno-bureaucrats and US economic specialists who crafted the economic policies that returned Taiwan from the brink of collapse and put it on the road to economic growth. Together they oversaw what may well become known as the most productive period in the history of Sino-American relations and the most successful and sustained example of Sino-foreign cooperation.; This dissertation examines the development of Taiwan's import-export policy from 1950, the year US aid appropriations to the Nationalists were resumed following a two-year lapse, to 1965, when US economic assistance was terminated, and the role of Nationalist and American economic personnel in import-export policy formulation. In doing so, it addresses several key issues related to modern China's economic development, including the role of the government, the centralization of decision making power, and the incorporation of administrative and technical professionals in state-led development efforts.
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