Construction industry and economic growth in Singapore

Abstract

The relationship between the construction industry and the economy in the course of national socioeconomic development has been studied by several writers. Singapore's recent advancement from a developing country to a newly industrializing one in less than a generation provides the opportunity to test some of these hypotheses. The article considers the role of the construction industry in Singapore's economy between 1960 and 1986. After studying the part construction played in the development process and the resulting structural changes that occurred within the industry, direct investment in construction by the public sector and its use to influence the direction of the economy as well as facilitate efforts to improve the industry are discussed. Government's attempts to manage the development of the local construction industry and the nature of the industry at present are also considered. A chronological approach is adopted under each of the main parts of the paper.