Abstract

HUANG, Kuochih. Minimizing the Social Dilemma: Taiwan’s Unexpected Achievement in Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic. Inv. Econ [online]. 2021, vol.80, n.316, pp.32-55.  Epub Sep 27, 2021. ISSN 0185-1667.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fe.01851667p.2021.316.78667.

Countries around the world find themselves trapped in a social dilemma amid the COVID-19 pandemic when most mitigation policies require sacrificing individuals’ interests for collective wellbeing. By examining Taiwan’s policy responses, this paper finds that while the cooperation for collective action does play a role, the main ingredient for its unexpected success is minimizing the grand-scale social dilemma, rather than fighting it head-to-head, through a set of carefully-designed measures. This paper further argues that Taiwan’s strategies are made possible by three underlying conditions that help to solve a series of collective action problems: The institutionalization and capacity building before the pandemic, the social coordination since the outbreak, and the political pressure from China.

Keywords : Taiwan; COVID-19; social dilemma; collective action problem; information; B5; D7; I18; O53.

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