Linda Lim, Professor Emerita at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and AcademiaSG Editor, brings an economist’s perspective to the ongoing discussion of racism in Singapore. This piece contains some updates added on 28 June 2021. Recent discourse in Singapore on race, racism and race relations, including on AcademiaSG, has helpfully […]
Private sector economists Manu Bhaskaran and Nigel Chiang argue that in both labour and total factor productivity, Singapore is under-performing relative to trading partners, peers and OECD countries, reflecting deep and systemic issues in the economy, especially in sectors where an over-reliance on labour force growth through migrant labour has affected incentives to invest. This is […]
In this module of the AcademiaSG Special Topics series, we present a carefully curated selection of the key research and analysis relevant to the concept of a minimum wage in Singapore. Most of these articles can be accessed for free, but we have indicated where a few are behind paywalls. What economists think about a […]
Feroz Khan (disaster analytics researcher at NTU and incoming Fulbright Fellow at Tulane University) and Al Lim (incoming PhD student in Anthropology at Yale University after an MSc in Urbanisation and Development at LSE) argue that Singapore’s COVID-19 recovery must centre environmental virtue ethics, to address the intersecting causes and effects of the climate crisis […]
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. Political parties contesting in the 2020 General Election have pledged to address inequality and […]
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. The history of skills development in Singapore’s industrial planning In Singapore, public investment in education, training and lifelong learning initiatives have primarily sought to equip students and […]
Economists Pang Eng Fong and Linda Lim (emeritus professors of strategy at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University, and the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, respectively) discuss the implications of the COVID-19 crisis for the position of migrant labour in Singapore’s economic model. Samantha Teresa, SMU BBA […]
Elvin Ong, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Centre for Southeast Asia Research at the University of British Columbia and Overseas Postdoctoral Fellow at the National University of Singapore, argues that reform of the economy—including to reduce dependency on low-waged migrant labour—should be done on a progressive basis. Over the past few weeks, Singaporeans have been actively […]
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. Many Singaporeans think that the government can engage in massive, even “generous”, deficit spending to rescue citizens, businesses and the […]
Donald Low, Professor of Practice in Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, argues that Singapore must look beyond a narrow focus on efficiency, and give greater weight to considerations of resilience and justice. Over the last 30-40 years, most economies have prioritised efficiency or economic growth over considerations of resilience […]