The Hoover Institution Archives has acquired the personal papers of Hou Chia-chu (1928–2007), a renowned economist who is best known for his contributions to the studies of economic theory, economic history, and economic thoughts on premodern and modern China, as well as his participation in policy formulation for Taiwan’s economic development from the 1970s to the late 1990s. Hou was born in Anhui Province, China. He served in the Nationalist Chinese Youth Army during World War II and went to Taiwan along with the Nationalist Chinese government in the midst of the Chinese Civil War. After retiring from military service, Hou went to Australia to study agricultural economy on a government scholarship. After returning to Taiwan in 1966, he became a pioneer in the research field of producers’ goods and price theories. Between the 1970s and the 1990s, in addition to his academic activities, Hou was actively engaged in Taiwan’s economic policy planning. He was a founding member of the Department of International Business of Soochow University (Taipei) and served as advisor to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development under the Executive Yuan.
The Hou Chia-chu papers include Hou’s manuscripts and research notes on the economic development of China and Taiwan, his personal diaries ranging from 1955 to 1996, and photos related to his academic activities and public service in Taiwan. They serve as useful materials for our understanding of Taiwan’s economic development under the presidencies of Chiang Ching-kuo and Lee Teng-hui and will complement Hoover’s rich and expanding archival collections on post-1949 Taiwan.
