2018-2019年臺灣經濟史研究的回顧

Retrospect of Economic History Research in Taiwan (2018-2019)

本文係對2018年及2019年臺灣經濟史研究的回顧。首先由2008年始至2017年為止，梳理出十餘年來經濟史在各項子題的發展概述；其次則對2018年及2019年兩年間的經濟史研究進行其大要的回顧，最後則是對經濟史未來發展的看法。 此兩年的研究之中，筆者將之略分為一、「國家、經濟政策與財政體制」，並分為清代與日治、戰後初期與當代；二、「區域史」，分為北部、中部與南部；三、「產業史」，分為農業、工業及商業、林業、電力及通訊；四、「飲食消費及遊憩」；五、「環境與社會經濟變遷」，並試圖就其整體趨勢來加以歸納與討論。區域史與地方產業史在資料取得的便利性與範圍較易控制，一直是研究大宗，而飲食、遊憩、環境等議題也日益受到重視，經濟史逐漸與社會史、文化史等結合；而傳統的研究課題，在新的史料陸續出現後也逐漸轉化或修正。 由於我國推動地方創生政策，地方的文史建構將成為趨勢，加以地方政府持續推動文史計畫或地方學的深耕，及各公營單位陸續開放早期難得一見的史料，對於地方經濟史的研究有推波助瀾之效，在可預期的數年內，此類研究仍將維持一定的數量。綜其來看，整體的研究走向雖仍有著前幾年回顧所指稱的隱憂，但在方法論的持續精進與史料的出現，臺灣經濟史研究應是朝著正面的方向前進。

This paper reviews the research on economic history of Taiwan between 2018 and 2019. It begins with a discussion on the context of economic history research by summarizing the development of various sub-topics of the field from 2008 to 2017, followed by a general review of research on economic history of Taiwan between 2018 and 2019, and finally the author’s views on the future development of the field. Studies conducted between 2018 and 2019 are divided into several sections, with the aim of discussing and summarizing the overall trend of the field. Titles of these sections are: (1) “State, Economic Policy, and Fiscal System,” with subcategories of “Qing Dynasty and Japanese Colonial Rule” and “The Early Post-war Period and the Contemporary Era”; (2) “Regional History,” in which Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan were discussed respectively; (3) “Industrial History,” dealing with agriculture, industry, commerce, forestry, electricity, and communications; (4) “Diet, Consumption, and Recreation”; and (5) “Environmental and Socio-Economic Changes.” With easy access to research materials on regional history and local industrial history, a lot of scholars have been concentrating on these topics. On the other hand, topics such as diet, recreation, and environment history have drawn increasing attention nowadays. There is also a trend of combining economic history studies with social and culture history studies. Moreover, traditional research topics have been gradually transformed or revised due to the emergence of new historical materials. As the Taiwan government promotes regional revitalization, the development of local culture and history will become a trend. In addition, thanks to local governments’ ongoing promotion of cultural and historical projects or local studies, as well as several public sectors’ efforts in making rare historical materials accessible to the public, local economic history studies will continue to grow in the coming years. In summary, although the overall research trend still contains worrisome elements mentioned in previous review articles, research on economic history of Taiwan is expected to move in a positive direction because of continuous improvement of methodology and emergence of new historical materials.