近年台湾贫穷问题的扩大化及其原因

The Expansion of Poverty in Taiwan in Recent Years and Its Causes

贫穷问题包括客观贫穷与主观贫穷两个层面。21世纪以来台湾不论是客观贫穷还是主观贫穷均呈现扩大化趋势。客观贫穷扩大化与台湾人口高龄化加速以及身心障碍者增多有关,更重要的是宏观经济状况恶化和收入差距扩大加剧。而台湾主观贫穷感受的增强则表明台湾民众消费期望和收入状况严重不符。造成这种不符的原因既有总体经济层面的原因,如房价过高、薪资停滞、贫富差距增大等,也有传统消费习惯的路径依赖和经济全球化带来的消费市场高端化的影响。

The issue of poverty is studied at two levels ： objective poverty and subjective poverty. Since the beginning of the 21st century Taiwan has witnessed an expanding trend at both levels. This paper argues that the expansion of objective poverty has to do with the acceleration of aging and the increase of physically and mentally disabled people in Taiwan, and above all, with the worsening of microeconomic conditions and the widening of the gap of income difference. The increasing feel of subjective poverty in Taiwan results from a serious discrepancy between consumer expectation and income reality of Taiwan Residents people, and this discrepancy results from overall economic problems such as high house prices, stagnation of wages and the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, as well as from the dependence on traditional consuming habits and the influence of high-end consumer market resulting from economic globalization.