Abstract
This paper concerns how rural villages recover their declining local economies based on two case studies in Taiwan, namely, the liquor industry in Sinyi, Nantou, and eco-friendly tea industry in Pinglin, New Taipei. Specifically, we study the processes through which rural villages managed to build new or transform old agricultural activities under different sectoral and local contexts, and, particularly, examine the roles of institutional actors, such as farmers associations and universities, in facilitating the recovery processes.
Keywords: rural economy, farmers association, university, Taiwan