Singapore's Policy Research Articles

Industrial Policy and Green Growth in a Small Island Economy: The Case of Singapore

Industrial Policy and Green Growth in a Small Island Economy: The Case of Singapore

Sequencing dengue control policy in Singapore: an evolutionary perspective for policy design

ABSTRACT About half the global population is now at risk of contracting dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection that can cause severe morbidity and fatalities. Effective dengue control depends on controlling the mosquito vector, but finding the right mix of vector control policies has proved challenging. Using a content analysis of 208 Hansard records from parliamentary proceedings in Singapore, where dengue outbreaks have significantly increased in both frequency and magnitude since the early 1990s, we trace the processual evolution of Singapore’s anti-dengue policy mix from 1960 to 2023 and conclude that the evolution of dengue control policies is consistent with a customized initial policy design with a ‘smart patching’ mode of policy change via layering over time. This article contributes to both the environmental public health and policy design literatures.

An analysis of attainment grouping policy in Singapore

AbstractThis paper extends the scholarship on attainment grouping by focusing on the policy initiatives of streaming and subject‐based banding (SBB) in Singapore. The study is framed by the concept of pragmatic perfectionism, which refers to the continuous and ideals‐oriented drive to improve a system through practical, incremental and paradoxical measures. It is argued that SBB is aligned with setting by giving students the flexibility and choice to study different subjects at varying levels. Mixed‐attainment grouping is also evident, where students are grouped in mixed‐form classes for selected subjects. However, SBB may have inadvertently maintained between‐school segregation for elite and non‐elite schools by supporting the existing policy of school posting based on students' exam scores. This paper contributes to the diverse formulations, adaptations and justifications surrounding attainment grouping. The study also illustrates the usefulness of pragmatic perfectionism in foregrounding the potential and tensions in educational policymaking.

Governing Illegal Settlements: Housing Policy in Singapore and Australia

Governing Illegal Settlements: Housing Policy in Singapore and Australia

A Post-Humanist Perspective of Singapore's Ecomodernist Leadership

Green growth has become doxa in the political economic governance of climate change. This is despite the lack of empirical evidence of its success and concerns that it reifies a business-as-usual dynamic. The question arises: why have practices of ‘green leadership’ maintained a hegemonic hold on how nation states respond to climate change? This provocation examines this question through an analysis of Singapore's policy ambition to become Asia's climate services leader. It draws on post-humanism to suggest that the form of ecomodernist leadership exhibited by Singapore not only perpetuates the status quo but (re)affirms the problematic anthropocentrism underpinning their approach. We demonstrate this through analysis of recent policy, media and private sector documents. Finally, we argue that a focus on Singapore matters because of its influence in the region and networked position globally.

The Relationship Between Homeownership and Well-Being — Based on the Case of Singapore Public Housing

This essay explores the relationship between homeownership and human well-being after surveying the public homeownership policy in Singapore’s development in the last 35 years. Drawing primarily on existing papers in the fields of well-being and housing, it outlines the social impact of house ownership on both physical and mental health. Besides, selected elements like economy, society, ethnicity and employment are also considered to emphasize the associations with well-being. While relations are generally complicated, acceptable evidence exists to admit homeownership plays an important role in human well-being. Conclusions are drawn on the personal and theoretical aspects, highlighting the significance of cross-disciplinary collaboration in urban strategy. Further research is recommended to analyze how the homeownership improves the human condition, which could offer useful experiences to other countries.

A HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL REVIEW OF SINGAPORE'S POLICY TOWARDS THE MALAYS AND THE MUSLIMS

When examining the condition of minorities around the world, we must pay attention to several factors such as their history, geopolitics, level of community development, patterns of integration, and the ideological style of the state in its policies. This journal article examines how Singapore's political policies towards the Malays and Muslims as minority groups. The research method used is the historical research method where data collection is done using literature review techniques. This research data analysis uses a political history approach to analyse Singapore's political policies in empowering religious communities in a secular state. The results show that Singapore has a vigilant and pragmatic attitude in making state policies in relation to Malay and Islam. This is due to its diverse demographics, its geopolitics flanked by Malaysia and Indonesia, and its past history of inter-ethnic conflict. In its development, the Singapore government has chosen the path of accommodation in making policies related to Muslims and Malays. Islam is realised as a benchmark for Singapore's domestic and foreign policies.

Initiatives in Combating Corruption in Malaysia: A Way Forward

Corruption is a heinous crime. The offence happens at all levels of society and nations. Corruption has hindered the efficiency of a country's governance and administration system. Since the 1950s, Malaysia has made several efforts to combat corruption. However, despite several efforts, corruption is still the main threat and serious offence, as reported in the Annual report 2021 by the Bank Negara Malaysia. Thus, this paper examines and analyses the initiatives undertaken to combat corruption cases in Malaysia. This study employed qualitative research by analysing the primary and secondary legal sources and the official reports and documents by authorities. In this relation, this paper is significant as it provides the legal and economic perspectives to raise the issues related to corruption based on international requirements and the Malaysia scenario. This paper also provides recommendations for adopting Singapore's anti-corruption policy and preventive measures to improve Malaysia's initiatives and action in combating corruption.

The Study of Multicultural Education and Teachers’ Multicultural Teaching Competency in Singapore and South Korea

This study examines multicultural education policies in Singapore and South Korea, analyzing their approaches within their unique sociopolitical and sociocultural contexts. This study also discusses the implications of the approaches used in both nations’ policies on multicultural teaching competence. Using government policy documents related to multicultural education in Singapore and South Korea, the collected data was analyzed using critical discourse analysis (CDA) and interpreted with the theory of five approaches to multicultural education by Sleeter and Grant (1999). The five approaches include 1) Teaching the Exceptional and Culturally Different, 2) Human Relations, 3) Single-Group Studies, 4) Multicultural Education, and 5) Education that is Multicultural and Social Reconstructionist. The findings illuminate the two nations’ distinct national stances and trajectories in the realm of multicultural education while concurrently identifying a shared commitment to the Multicultural Education approach within the policy documents of both. In Singapore, a combination of Human Relations, Single-Group Studies, and Multicultural Education is deeply embedded throughout the nation’s policy discourses. Conversely, South Korea’s attempts at multicultural education present an evolving narrative, shifting from a conservative perspective rooted in Teaching the Exceptional and Culturally Different to a more liberal stance deeply grounded in the tenets of the Multicultural Education approach. This study emphasizes the importance of sociocultural and sociopolitical context in shaping a government’s approach to multicultural education.

A ‘good’ neoliberal citizen: A policy analysis of conceptions of young Singaporean citizens

Globalisation has driven the pursuit of more active citizenship forms. Many governments see educational policies as critical to preparing young citizens with the necessary skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours to thrive in a changing global context. However, what active citizenship education is and means varies across countries. Little is known about how active citizenship is conceptualised in educational policies in Singapore and the kinds of citizens these policies and programmes aim to nurture. This article draws on an analysis of 20 Singapore policy texts, such as political speeches, press releases, and curriculum documents, to examine the kind of Singaporean citizens the Singapore government seeks to nurture. We argue that globalisation provides a critical context for local conceptualisations of citizenship, but the active Singapore citizen is not an individualistic nor a universal neoliberal citizen subject. In line with Asian conceptions of citizenship, which posit that ‘good’ people make good citizens, active citizenship in Singapore has a prevailing focus on ‘good’ character and an active citizen who prioritises the well-being of the collective, yet caught in a paradoxical pursuit of a neoliberal citizen.

Singapores New Hedging Strategy in the Post-epidemic Era

Singapore has pursued "pragmatism" in the diplomatic area since its founding. To diplomacy with the great powers, especially vis--vis a rising China, Singapore chooses a strategy called 'hedging,' which represents neutrality between pure-power rejection and pure power acceptance. The successful implementation of a hedging strategy depends on certain conditions. In the case of the outbreak of full-scale competition among big countries, hedging will become challenging to sustain. The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought complex changes to the world pattern; at the same time, the rise of China and the intensification of competition between China and the United States also make Singapore's hedging policy must be constantly adjusted with the changes to global change. This paper attempts to analyze the current situation of Singapore's hedging policy from the macro and micro dimensions by sorting out the stage changes of Singapore's hedging policy and exploring the new adjustment of Singapore's China policy in the post-epidemic era.

Perceptions towards pronatalist policies in Singapore

Fertility rates have been declining in most high-income countries. Singapore is at the forefront of developing pronatalist policies to increase birth rates. This study examines perceptions towards pronatalist policies among men and women in Singapore and compares which policies are perceived as the most important contributors to the conduciveness for childbearing. Using data from the Singapore Perceptions of the Marriage and Parenthood Package study (N = 2000), the results from dominance analysis highlight two important findings. First, paternity leave, shared parental leave, and the Baby Bonus are the top three contributors to the conduciveness to have children. Second, the combined positive effect of financial incentives and work–life policies is perceived to be favorable to fertility. The findings suggest that low-fertility countries may wish to consider adopting this basket of policies as they are like to be regarded as supportive of childbearing. Although previous research suggests that pronatalist policies may only have a modest effect on fertility, the findings raise further questions as to whether fertility may decline even further in the absence of these policies.

When the Home Is Also the Workplace: Women migrant domestic workers’ experiences with the ‘live-in’ policy in Singapore and Hong Kong

This article examines the link between the mandatory live-in policy and the unsafe working and living conditions of women migrant domestic workers. This policy has been rationalised on the principles of the inviolability of the private home and challenges around regulating and enforcing labour protections in the home-workplace but has, in practice, increased migrant domestic workers’ precarity and exploitation. Drawing on empirical research in Singapore and Hong Kong, the article demonstrates how the live-in policy operates in tandem with inadequate labour and migration regulations to produce a situation where poor working and living conditions are an enduring part of workers’ employment and everyday lives. It contributes to research that has highlighted the gendered dynamics and exclusionary bordering practices that shape waged domestic labour, and considers the implications this may have for the well-being and security of women migrant domestic workers.

Language practices and policies of Singaporean-Japanese families in Singapore

The few studies on Family Language Policy in Singapore (FLP) have generally focused on FLP in local and immigrant Chinese families. This article explores language policies that seem to undergird Singaporean-Japanese families’ language practices. In-depth interviews and observations with five such families showed that Japanese only functions as the language of communication between the Japanese parents and their children if parents have invoked particular language policies to support its transmission and use at home. For most families, English was the main medium of communication among family members. Language policies and practices in these families were heavily influenced by the value emplaced on each language within the parents’ linguistic repertoire and their beliefs regarding language learning.

The shift of percent excess mortality from zero-COVID policy to living-with-COVID policy in Singapore, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong SAR.

With the economic recession and pandemic fatigue, milder viral variants and higher vaccine coverage along the time lay the basis for lifting anti-COVID policies to restore COVID-19 normalcy. However, when and how to adjust the anti-COVID policies remain under debate in many countries. In this study, four countries (Singapore, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand) and one region (Hong Kong SAR), that have shifted from the zero-COVID (ZC) policy to or close to the living-with-COVID (LWC) during or after the Omicron outbreak, were selected as research objects. All-cause mortality data were collected for these objects from 2009 to 2019. The expected mortality was estimated by a simple linear regression method. Excess mortality over time was calculated as the difference between the expected mortality and the observed mortality. Finally, percent excess mortality (PEM) was calculated as the excess mortality divided by the expected mortality. In the examined four countries, PEM fluctuated around 0% and was lower than 10% most of the time under the ZC policy before 2022. After shifting to the LWC policy, all the examined countries increased the PEM. Briefly, countries with high population density (Singapore and South Korea) experienced an average PEM of 20-40% during the first half of 2022, and followed by a lower average PEM of 15-18% during the second half of 2022. For countries with low population density under the LWC policy, Australia experienced an average PEM of 39.85% during the first half of 2022, while New Zealand was the only country in our analysis that achieved no more than 10% in average PEM all the time. On the contrary, Hong Kong SAR under their ZC policy attained an average PEM of 71.14% during the first half of 2022, while its average PEM decreased to 9.19% in the second half of 2022 with LWC-like policy. PEM under different policies within each country/region overtime demonstrated that the mortality burden caused by COVID-19 had been reduced overtime. Moreover, anti-COVID policies are suggested to control the excess mortality to achieve as low as 10% in PEM.

Trade policy review of Singapore

AbstractAs a small open economy with almost no natural resources, Singapore is highly dependent on international trade. This paper reviews the eighth Trade Policy Review of Singapore published by World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2021. We first begin with Singapore's trade policies that shape it as a trusted and leading node in both global supply chains and financial sectors. We then focus on its transformation to a digital economy and important Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Lastly, policymakers should keep monitoring other potential issues such as shortage of labour and ageing population to ensure sustainable economic growth of Singapore in the long run.

The effects of SES, social support, and resilience on older adults’ well-being during COVID-19: Evidence from Singapore

The COVID-19 pandemic has rendered visible many socioeconomic inequalities and the lengthy period of disruption to everyday life had disproportionate effects on the most vulnerable groups in Singapore and across the world. Utilizing data from the Singapore Life Panel ® (SLP) collected in September 2021, this study examined a sample of 6667 older adults to assess the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) on well-being, and the mechanisms through which social support and resilience may mediate its influence. Overall, our results suggest significant direct and indirect effects of SES on well-being and provide evidence for the pivotal role that social support plays in building resilience and well-being. Affluent socioeconomic backgrounds do not intrinsically build resilience; instead, it is through the access to social resources, which SES affords and facilitates, that resilience is developed, and well-being is safeguarded. We argue that Singapore's policy response to COVID-19 has yet to fully leverage on social resources and develop a social infrastructure that can buffer the negative impacts of prolonged crises on the most vulnerable groups.

Designing a blended learning environment to enhance low achieving students' Tamil language learning

Although Singapore's bilingualism policy encourages students to be bilingual in both English language (EL) and mother tongue language (MTL), due to the EL being widely used across nations, there are notable changes in the usage of MTL among the younger Singaporeans. This deterioration of MTL proficiency among the low-achieving students (LAS) students enrolled in the normal technical (NT) stream in Singapore is evidentiary. Perhaps, language learning may be transformed into a more exciting and engaging approach for the LAS with the help of ICT and the integration of blended learning. The goal of this study was to design a BLE for LAS to help them improve their Tamil language proficiency. In this study, 11 secondary level LAS who attend a specialised school for normal technical students will assess their Tamil Language learning skills through educational design research.

Experience and Policy Analysis of Singapore's Talent Construction

The fundamental source of national scientific and technological innovation lies in talent. Only with a high-quality talent team can countries win in the fierce competition of globalization. Since its founding, Singapore has attached great importance to talent development, formed a sound talent policy system, and made remarkable achievements in science, technology, economy, culture, etc. relying on the talent feedback effect. It is of great significance to promote the flow of global innovative talents. From the perspective of policy science, this paper mainly analyzes the top-level design of Singapore's talent work, the local training of science and innovation talents, the policy of attracting overseas talents and the promotion of soft environment, and summarizes the evolution logic of Singapore's talent policy. At the same time, it analyzes the effectiveness of Singapore's talent policy by comparing the cases of many countries. The research finds that Singapore's talent policy has played a role in promoting industrial development and building a clean government, making Singapore break through its development shortcomings and become one of the most developed countries in the world. On this basis, it provides policy enlightenment for developing countries to accelerate talent construction.

Legal regulation of the use of distributed ledger technologies in financial sector of Singapore

Singapore is one of the leading countries in digitalization and blockchain technology. Since 2016, Singapore has implemented the Ubin project to create a national digital currency. In 2019, Singapore passed the Payment Services Act. The paper aims to analyze Singapore's legislation and MAS policies and identify approaches that can be used to improve legislation in other states. To meet that aim, the general scientific techniques and methods of scientific cognition, such as analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, system-structural and formal-logical approaches are utilised. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that Singapore extends the provisions of securities legislation to digital tokens, which have the characteristics of securities or futures. Digital tokens, which are cryptocurrencies, are regulated by the Payment Services Act containing criteria to distinguish payment tokens from other virtual objects. Using this approach minimizes difficulties in regulating the circulation of, for example, bitcoins. In addition, MAS has developed a set of rules enshrining requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges, which reduces the risks of fraud and money laundering using cryptocurrencies. The paper also analyses MAS reports on developing a state's digital currency. The paper concludes that other states can use Singapore's experience to shape or modernize their legislation.