Income and occupation dynamics in the globalization era: a case study in Chia-Yi County, Taiwan

After the industrial era, the United States and other economically advanced countries have gradually shifted to the so-called "information society." In this new society, services industries increasingly displaced manufacturing as sources of wealth creation. The role of information became pervasive and mental labor tended to replace physical labor as the dominant economic activities (Fukuyama, 1999). With the rise of the "information age" (Castells, 1996) and the coming of the prevailing "accelerated globalization" (Mittelman, 2000), profound changes took place in the former economic, political, and culture spheres of these societies.

"Accelerated globalization," is rooted in the development of liberal economy, and informational technologies. The information technologies mainly refer to computermediated communication infrastructure, the digitalization technology, and the electronic network, typically represented by the Internet. With its frenzied e-speed, globalization profoundly affects the network of social institutions on which societies are based: family, community, and state (OECD, 1997). Many important structural aspects are redefined under this catalyst, for example, organization-structures, industrial work relationships, occupations, urban problems, etc.