The “Singapore model” of a market economy under heavy government direction has led to strong headline numbers that obscure signs of significant stress. High land and housing costs, extreme inequality, and a very low fertility rate suggest that everyday life feels precarious for many in one of the world’s richest cities. Singapore needs a new playbook, argues LINDA LIM in this article originally published by the Atlantic Council.

NESSA SWINN YAP and NG KOK HOE (Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy) explain why stronger support for informal care will help to ease pressure on public services as well as provide much needed relief to households.

LINDA LIM (University of Michigan) and PANG ENG FONG (Singapore Management University) welcome Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s call for a “major reset” in Singapore’s policies. They argue that the country’s “extensive growth model” is inefficient, inequitable and unsustainable.

EUSTON QUAH and TAN JUN RUI (Nanyang Technological University) argue that better accounting for the value of household production would help the government design policies such as paternal leave and flexible working arrangements more prudently and fairly. This article is an edited excerpt of their chapter in the book, Why Not? Thinking About Singapore’s Tomorrow, published by World Scientific this month.

CHUA BENG HUAT (National University of Singapore) reflects on Singapore’s public housing program and argues that the features that have made for its success have also generated tensions and contradictions which are not easily resolvable. This essay draws from his new book, Public Subsidy, Private Accumulation: The Political Economy of Singapore’s Public Housing (NUS Press, 2024).

At its core, the exercise of determining the basic standard of living that everyone in Singapore should have requires recognition that all are equal in humanity, argue TEO YOU YENN and NG KOK HOE.

LINDA LIM (University of Michigan) and TEO YOU YENN (Nanyang Technological University) argue that gains from attracting ultra-high-net-worth individuals are overstated. The benefits of private philanthropy are outweighed by forgone tax revenues and distract from the state’s responsibilty to look after its citizens.

Cash-strapped Singaporeans are asking for more help to cope with the high cost of living. Cash transfers are one type of assistance, but some criticise these as wasteful handouts. NG KOK HOE explains the merits of cash transfers and how they can be structured to reduce the risk of misuse and fraud.

Ahead of the annual Budget Debate, LINDA LIM explains a concept that is familiar to other developed countries though rarely used by Singapore policymakers even when considering similar approaches.

Ordinary Singaporeans have an understanding of what it means to lead meaningful and flourishing lives as part of a wider society, says sociologist TEO YOU YENN. But this social sense is overwhelmed by institutional signals that life is an individual hustle. If Singapore’s leaders are seeking a new social compact for a changed world, they would need to embark on radical reforms to redress the balance between self-interest and solidarity, she argues. This is the edited text of a speech delivered at the Singapore Economic Policy Forum on 18 October 2022.

Independent researcher STEPHANIE CHOK asks: if gig work and other non-standard forms of employment are an integral and growing part of our economy, what are our shared political responsibilities in ensuring that it delivers fairer returns?

TEO YOU YENN, NG KOK HOE, NEO YU WEI, AD MAULOD and STEPHANIE CHOK of the Minimum Income Standard research team suggest that security and independence need to be centred in the ongoing public conversation—boosted by the General Election—about basic needs.

ARTHUR CHIA, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences, argues that a more worker-centric approach to skills development is needed in Singapore.

PHILIP HOLDEN, formerly Professor at the National University ofSingapore, interviewed Debbie Fordyce — President of NGO Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) — to discuss the work of TWC2 and structural issues facing migrant workers.

MANU BHASKARAN (CEO of Centennial Asia Advisors) and LINDA LIM (Professor Emerita at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan) argue that Singapore would benefit from a slower pace of reserve accumulation.

CHONG JA IAN, Harvard-Yenching Institute Visiting Scholar 2019-2020, argues that the pandemic reveals the need for Singapore to reconsider how it makes decisions about national directions and policy trade-offs.

IRENE Y.H. NG, Associate Professor and Director of the Social Service Research Centre in the National University of Singapore, discusses ways to harness Budget 2020 for greater support of low income workers.

NG KOK HOE, Senior Research Fellow and Head, Case Study Unit at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, considers the implications of recent Budget announcements for achieving retirement income security in Singapore.