Insights on Singapore's Economy and Society from Leading Thinkers

The following section is included:

• Contents

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• CHANGING POPULATION COMPOSITION
• “NEW” SOURCES OF SOCIAL DIVERSITY
• CURRENT DEBATES — MIGRATION AND INCREASING SOCIAL DIVERSITY IN GLOBALISING SINGAPORE
• SINGAPORE AS PERMANENT MAGNET FOR TALENT OR TRANSNATIONAL REVOLVING DOOR?
• ENDNOTES
• REFERENCES

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• GROWTH-AT-ALL-COSTS POLICY
• DISLOCATION OF INDUSTRIES AND CAPABILITIES
• IMPACT OF POPULATION GROWTH
• THE DOUBLE WHAMMY OF THE POPULATION POLICY
• THE ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
• SUSTAINABLE MODEL OF GROWTH FOR THE FUTURE
• CONCLUSION

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• FACTS AND REALITY
• IMPACT OF HIGH COST AND INFLATION
• INCOME REDISTRIBUTION
• LOWERING COSTS
• ENCOURAGE PRIVATE GIVING
• CONCLUSION

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS ROOTEDNESS?
• WHAT BRINGS ABOUT ROOTEDNESS?
• WHAT ARE OUR EXPECTATIONS OF ROOTEDNESS?
• HOW ROOTED ARE WE?
• HOW CAN WE DEVELOP ROOTEDNESS?
• WHERE ARE WE HEADING?

I want to look at how Singapore has done as a global city, as a regional hub. The bottom-line for me is that we have done extremely well, but the challenges are proliferating, so we need to do a lot more to fill in the gaps if we are to continue succeeding in this area. Let me begin by looking at some global rankings, one of which Dr Tan Chin Nam has shown you, to take stock of where we stand and what drives that ranking. I want to look at the challenges that we are facing, the gaps that we need to fill, and in particular to focus on what is our key gap, which is the lack of scale and which might be our undoing in the future…

In 2003, Minister Yaacob Ibrahim made a landmark speech envisioning the third phase of Singapore’s multiculturalism as combining and going beyond the melting pot and mosaic approaches of the first two phases. Starting from the attainment of self-government in the 1950s, the first phase involved the nation-building promotion of multiracial harmony and construction of a Singaporean identity through the enlargement of the area where Chinese, Malay, Indian and other cultural beliefs and practices overlapped. In the 1980s, as the effects of Westernisation were felt with successful capitalist development, emphasis was shifted to the construction of hyphenated Chinese-Singaporean, Malay-Singaporean, Indian-Singaporean identities to encourage the retention of ethnic culture. In the current third phase, as globalisation brings with it cultural diversity, cross-cultural understanding and dialogue are encouraged to foster hybrid Singaporean identities that would bind Singaporeans in a lattice of shared cultural links, grounded in the heartland and spreading out into the cosmopolitan world…

This paper will examine the following themes:

• Between nation-state and global city
• Monaco of the East?
• The bet on casinos
• A diversified economy
• Opinions and practices in a global city

One of the “Key Goals” recommended by the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) Report 2010 is to further Singapore’s position as a “Global City…”

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• ON ENABLING AND INCLUDING THE DISABLED
• ON INCLUDING THE POOR AND LOW-SKILLED
• PRINCIPLES UNDERPINNING SINGAPORE’S SOCIAL SAFETY NET
• PRINCIPLE ONE: SELF-RELIANCE, WORK BEFORE WELFARE
• PRINCIPLE TWO: FAMILY — THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE
• PRINCIPLE THREE: MANY HELPING HANDS
• WHOSE JOB IS IT ANYWAY TO CREATE A CARING SOCIETY?
• GOVERNMENT
• ADVOCATES
• INDIVIDUALS
• CONCLUSION

Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, distinguished guests:

When I accepted the invitation to speak at this prestigious forum, I had no idea I would be so far out of my depth. I am neither a politician nor an academic. Travelling around the world to deliver lectures on plastic surgery is easy, as I know the topic well. But putting my thoughts together and wrapping my head around, a topic as intangible as the “Singapore Spirit,” has been a challenge for me…

I visited a place called Little Gidding a couple of years ago, a tiny village in Cambridgeshire, England. It was difficult to find even with a Global Positioning System (GPS) device…

Thank you for inviting me to share with you the work of the People’s Association (PA) and its GrasRroots Organisations (GROs) with regards to building social capital in Singapore…

The bulk of public discussion about last year’s general elections has been political governance and particularly, relations between the electorate and government. No doubt social media and a new, younger electorate have changed expectations and are redefining the relationship. But the divide is not just between the governed and the governing. Issues surfaced in the elections which indicate that other social fissures exist in Singapore society…

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• DIVERSITY IS ALL AROUND US
• OLD VS NEW DIFFERENCES — A HELPFUL DISTINCTION?
• APPRECIATE DIFFERENCES
• PRESERVING THE COMMON SPACE
• CONCLUSION

The following sections are included:

• INTRODUCTION
• MACRO CONTEXTS AND EVOLVING CONCEPTS
• ISSUES IN EMERGENT GROUP DIFFERENCES
• STRATEGIC FOCUS AND PRINCIPLED APPROACH

The following sections are included:

• THE ECONOMY AT INDEPENDENCE
• THE POST-INDEPENDENCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
• THE “SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION” AND AFTER
• SINGAPORE’S ECONOMIC MODEL AT 50: A LOOK BACK
• SINGAPORE’S ECONOMIC PROSPECTS: THE NEXT 50 YEARS
• LOOKING TO SERVICES AND THE REGION
• CONCLUSION

I will focus my presentation on the economic implications of demographic change: what it means for economic growth and economic dynamism. The two are different. My presentation will centre around two broad themes. First, I will describe our demographic trilemma — the constraints and the choices we need to make. Second, I would like to argue that demographics is not destiny — why economic dynamism is not a numbers game and how we can remain dynamic amidst this demographic challenge…

The ageing population is undeniably one of the major issues of our time. It is inevitable and will happen in all societies globally. Demographic trends have the quality of certainty, short of dramatic change due to war or a catastrophic disaster. No one has denied population ageing. The other issue of our time is climate change but there are some who deny it. A common concern for most countries is that as the population grows older, there may be emerging conflicts in society between the population who are growing older and the working age population which is not growing commensurately. We frequently highlight the uncomfortable truth that the old age dependency ratio will rise. There will be far more dependent people then there are working people. The IPS Background Paper has projected this. Christopher Gee has pointed out that the dependency ratio will be 24 older people per 100 persons of working age in 2020 and 54 older people per 100 persons of working age in 2040. Now, contrast this with 8 older aged persons per 100 working age persons in 1980 and 11 to a 100 in 2000. The burden is great, but is it just about who pays the taxes, who pays the bills and who gets what space?…

Looking 30 years forward, my children will be around my age now. Their children would be young. I do not want to be a burden to them. I want to be independent, so I need to look at what life will be like if I want to be independent. In terms of the end of life, there are four main scenarios: sudden death, terminal illness, frailty and organ failure. Organ failure is usually associated with losing functionality and chronic illness. Experiencing frailty is also a slow decline towards death. With a terminal illness, it is a relatively quick but painful decline, while sudden death is immediate…

We are now living much longer than before. In the 1950s, the expected lifespan was around 61 years. Today, those who are aged around 65 can expect to live another 21 years. These additional years of life are really a bonus, received from the investments that we have made in sanitation, healthcare, good housing and a good clean, safe and secure living environment. Children born today can expect to live up to around 83 years old. With improvements in biomedical sciences, we can only guess how many more bonus years today’s children might have by the time they are in their 60s or 70s. Greater longevity is a bonus if we are well prepared for it. We can age with vigour if each one of us prepares himself or herself well, if we prepare ourselves well in our communities, and if all of us together, as a nation, are well prepared…

In 2016, Singapore was ranked third in the world for the longest average life expectancy and second in the world for the longest average healthy life expectancy. Therefore, we are not only living longer, but we are living longer, healthier. Thus, we cannot equate biological age with chronological age. Seventy is the new 50. Fortunately, as we have grown older, we have also grown richer. Singapore’s GDP per capita rose from just S$900 in 1970 to S$71,000 in 2016, one of the highest in the world. Despite the abundance of these good tidings, ageing in Singapore has generally been considered as a liability because of misconceptions about the ageing process and ageism. Policy planners, media, society in general and unfortunately some older people themselves are guilty of harbouring views which associate old age with physical decline, with financial dependence and with degraded mental functions. These misconceptions have clouded the promise of old age…