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Changing Labor Market Conditions And Economic Development In Hong Kong, The Republic Of Korea, Singapore, And Taiwan, China, Gary S. Fields Sep 2015

Changing Labor Market Conditions And Economic Development In Hong Kong, The Republic Of Korea, Singapore, And Taiwan, China, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

In the newly industrializing economies (NIEs) of Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan (China), the entire working population has benefited from labor market institutions. The East Asian NIEs attained and maintained generally full employment, improved their job mixes, raised real earnings, and lowered their rates of poverty. This article reaches two principal conclusions. First, labor market conditions continued to improve in all four economies in the 1980s at rates remarkably similar to their rates of aggregate economic growth. Second, labor market repression was not a major factor in the growth experiences of these economies in the 1980s. …


Housing Policies In Singapore: Evaluation Of Recent Proposals And Recommendations For Reform, Sock Yong Phang, David K. C. Lee, Alan Cheong, Kok Fai Phoon, Karol Wee Jul 2014

Housing Policies In Singapore: Evaluation Of Recent Proposals And Recommendations For Reform, Sock Yong Phang, David K. C. Lee, Alan Cheong, Kok Fai Phoon, Karol Wee

David LEE Kuo Chuen

The Singapore housing market is unusual in its high homeownership rate, the dominance of HDB housing, and the extensive intervention of the government in regulating housing supply and demand in both the HDB and private housing sectors. Recent rapid population increases in a low interest rate and high global liquidity environment has resulted in accelerated house prices increases in Singapore. Earlier this year, the government launched “Our Singapore Conversation” of which discussion on housing policies constitutes one major component. This “conversation” comes in the wake of several consecutive rounds of measures to stabilize housing prices using various instruments. This paper …


Academic Paper Supports Housing Curbs For Prs, Foreigners, Mindy Tan, David Kuo Chuen Lee Jul 2014

Academic Paper Supports Housing Curbs For Prs, Foreigners, Mindy Tan, David Kuo Chuen Lee

David LEE Kuo Chuen

No abstract provided.


Reit To Deal With Hdb Demand-Supply Challenges, Chor Hao Ong, David Kuo Chuen Lee Jul 2014

Reit To Deal With Hdb Demand-Supply Challenges, Chor Hao Ong, David Kuo Chuen Lee

David LEE Kuo Chuen

A group of academics from the Singapore Management University (SMU) and a noted property consultant are making the case for a REIT comprising Housing and Development Board (HDB) residential and commercial units.


Coping With Growth Transitions: The Case Of Chinese Family Businesses In Singapore, Wee-Liang Tan, Siew Tong Fock Jun 2014

Coping With Growth Transitions: The Case Of Chinese Family Businesses In Singapore, Wee-Liang Tan, Siew Tong Fock

Wee Liang TAN

Families control more than half of the corporations in East Asia. The contribution of family businesses to Asia's economic growth is predicated upon successfully growing their businesses. Many family businesses in East Asia, spanning countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, are Chinese owned and managed. Some claim that these businesses will never develop into full-fledged multinational enterprises because of their cultural heritage (Redding, 1990). However, some Chinese family businesses have successfully made the transition.This paper presents an in-depth study of five Chinese family businesses in Singapore that have successfully made the transition in growth and size …


Exporting Expertise: A Note On Singapore's Gambit In Bangalore, India, Caroline Yeoh, Amrit Vaidyanath, Siang Yeung Wong Sep 2013

Exporting Expertise: A Note On Singapore's Gambit In Bangalore, India, Caroline Yeoh, Amrit Vaidyanath, Siang Yeung Wong

Caroline Yeoh

Infrastructure can be unreliable and administration subject to corruption in Asia’s rapidly emerging economies. This context presented Singapore with unique opportunities to export its ‘positive reputation’ to locations where these attributes are less certain, through the provision of superior infrastructure, the ability to negotiate investment concessions and, where existing, through the links to influential business groups in the investment location. This strategic initiative is premised on the perception that Singapore’s good relations with multinationals, as well as “connections” with Asian business networks, will give the industrial-township projects a marketing advantage. To complement the extensive literature on Singapore’s flagship projects in …


Embedded Co-Operation In The Context Of Singapore's Regionalization Program: The Batamindo Experiment Revisited, Caroline Yeoh, Adeline Kwan, Siang Yeung Wong Sep 2013

Embedded Co-Operation In The Context Of Singapore's Regionalization Program: The Batamindo Experiment Revisited, Caroline Yeoh, Adeline Kwan, Siang Yeung Wong

Caroline Yeoh

The development of Singapore-styled industrial parks has resided on the country’s ability to negotiate investment concessions at inter-government level, to provide superior infrastructure, and where existing, through the links to influential business groups in the investment location. Singapore’s first transborder industrialization project in Batam (Indonesia) reflects this stratagem. This paper revisits the debate on the attractiveness of the low-cost investment enclaves for multinational investments, with insights from Batamindo Industrial Park. Through evidence from on-site interviews and case studies, this paper concludes that while the project’s progress to date has been largely overshadowed by socio-political uncertainties in the host environment, its …


Regionalisation And Singapore's Transborder Industrialisation: A New Perspective On Suzhou Industrial Park, Xun Cai, Lu Gao, Caroline Yeoh Aug 2013

Regionalisation And Singapore's Transborder Industrialisation: A New Perspective On Suzhou Industrial Park, Xun Cai, Lu Gao, Caroline Yeoh

Caroline Yeoh

The dynamics of international economic competition have prompted governments to re-examine accustomed policies, and search for alternative strategies, in order to re-position their economies for the future. This paper takes a look at Singapore’s search for a competitive positioning in the global marketplace, and focuses on the city-state’s much-publicized, and controversial, flagship project in China, viz, the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). This strategic initiative is premised on the perceptions that Singapore’s positive reputation with multinational corporations, and ‘guanxi’ (or connections) with regional governments, will give the regional sites a strategic advantage in the competition for foreign investments. Earlier studies have …


Embedded Co-Operation In The Context Of Singapore's Regionalization Program: The Batamindo Experiment Revisited, Caroline Yeoh, Adeline Kwan, Siang Yeung Wong Aug 2013

Embedded Co-Operation In The Context Of Singapore's Regionalization Program: The Batamindo Experiment Revisited, Caroline Yeoh, Adeline Kwan, Siang Yeung Wong

Caroline Yeoh

The development of Singapore-styled industrial parks has resided on the country’s ability to negotiate investment concessions at inter-government level, to provide superior infrastructure, and where existing, through the links to influential business groups in the investment location. Singapore’s first transborder industrialization project in Batam (Indonesia) reflects this stratagem. This paper revisits the debate on the attractiveness of the low-cost investment enclaves for multinational investments, with insights from Batamindo Industrial Park. Through evidence from on-site interviews and case studies, this paper concludes that while the project’s progress to date has been largely overshadowed by socio-political uncertainties in the host environment, its …


Staying Ahead Of The Competition: Insights From Singapore's Manufacturing Enclave In Vietnam, Caroline Yeoh, Di Kun Goh, Wilfred Pow Ngee How Aug 2013

Staying Ahead Of The Competition: Insights From Singapore's Manufacturing Enclave In Vietnam, Caroline Yeoh, Di Kun Goh, Wilfred Pow Ngee How

Caroline Yeoh

The apparent success of Singapore-styled industrial parks in attracting foreign investments into the emerging Asian economies to capitalize on cheap and abundant resources has led, pari passu, to a mushrooming of similarly-patterned competitor parks in close proximity to the flagship projects. Many of the competitor parks offer either similar or comparable facilities, lower rates, or, in some cases, both. The ensuing dynamic competitive interactions between the competitor parks and the Singapore-styled parks have forced a re-examination of the viability of the Singapore advantage in navigating the economics of competition, and in sustaining competitive advantage. The Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), unsurprisingly, …


The Singapore "Advantage" In India: A Perception Or A Premium?, Alexandra Si-Lan Wee, Ai Lin Leong, Caroline Yeoh Aug 2013

The Singapore "Advantage" In India: A Perception Or A Premium?, Alexandra Si-Lan Wee, Ai Lin Leong, Caroline Yeoh

Caroline Yeoh

Singapore’s regionalisation strategy has been applied in various countries, such as China, Vietnam and India, through the establishment of industrial parks. The parks are marketed as a winning combination of the host country’s unique location advantages and Singapore style efficiency and management know-how. Singapore’s foray into India was marked by the setting up of the ITPL in Bangalore, and furthered by its venture into a future phase of HITEC City, based on her success in Bangalore. However, with global businesses shifting interests towards India, and competing industrial parks emerging to meet the increasing demand, ITPL is faced with stiff competition …


Economics Of Competition': A Study Of Low-Cost Manufacturing Enclaves In Batam Island, Indonesia, Caroline Yeoh, Feng Hao Chua, Sylvie Tan Aug 2013

Economics Of Competition': A Study Of Low-Cost Manufacturing Enclaves In Batam Island, Indonesia, Caroline Yeoh, Feng Hao Chua, Sylvie Tan

Caroline Yeoh

Singapore’s transborder industrialization projects in China and India have received much attention. This regionalization initiative was intended to set in place a strategic configuration for the city-state to restructure its domestic industries and, pari passu, retain important linkages with contiguous, low-cost environments. Our study reports on Singapore’s pioneering, albeit lesser-known, project - Batamindo Industrial Park – in neighboring Batam Island, Indonesia, and finds that the strategic intent of this policy gambit remains stymied by non-economic, socio-political complexities in the host environment, and the economics of competition from other industrial estates in the vicinity of this prototype, remains to be addressed.


Exporting Expertise: Singapore’S Gambits In The Middle East, Caroline Yeoh, Wilfred Pow Ngee How Aug 2013

Exporting Expertise: Singapore’S Gambits In The Middle East, Caroline Yeoh, Wilfred Pow Ngee How

Caroline Yeoh

Singapore’s regionalization stratagem points increasingly towards the influence of both the sociopolitical environment and the economics of competition, in a business environment with an ever-growing number of competitors; to the extent that other forces, particularly political ones, are often sidelined. A more in-depth study of the above two influences is best performed in a context comparatively free of the implicit complex political facets but with sufficiently rich environments to challenge internationalizing firms, and distinct influences to draw pertinent conclusions from. For this purpose, the continually expanding business environments and the unique cultures of the Middle East provide the perfect context …


Internationalization Into The Gcc: Singapore In Retrospect, Caroline Yeoh, Wilfred Pow Ngee How, Hong Hao Chong Aug 2013

Internationalization Into The Gcc: Singapore In Retrospect, Caroline Yeoh, Wilfred Pow Ngee How, Hong Hao Chong

Caroline Yeoh

As internationalization becomes, increasingly, the chosen method of (ironically) competing for competitiveness among firms, new and rich frontiers for business come into ever-expanding demand. Among the foremost of these frontiers, the countries of the GCC represent both fertile ground and uncharted waters for internationalizing firms, with cultures as rich as their markets and sometimes byzantine yet fascinating socio-political forces presenting a plethora of challenges to erstwhile investing firms. As a culmination of our research into this region over past years, then, we examine in this paper, as a case study of sorts, the experiences of Singapore firms in the various …


The Singapore-India Connection: A Tale Of Two Industrial Parks, Caroline Yeoh, Wongso Kevin, Wee Tan Aug 2013

The Singapore-India Connection: A Tale Of Two Industrial Parks, Caroline Yeoh, Wongso Kevin, Wee Tan

Caroline Yeoh

In recent times, Singapore has, as part of its regionalisation strategy, established industrial parks in various countries, including China, Vietnam, and India. The parks are marketed as a winning combination of the host country’s unique location advantages and Singapore-style efficiency and management know-how. Singapore’s foray into India, in particular, was marked by the setting up of the ITPL in Bangalore; a development that met with great success. However, with global businesses shifting interests towards India, and competing industrial parks emerging to meet the increasing demand, ITPL is faced with stiff competition from other industrial parks; and Singapore has since announced …


Transborder Industrialization And Singapore's Regionalization Strategy: Singapore's Industrial Parks In Indonesia And China - Boom, Bane Or An Ongoing Game?, Caroline Yeoh, Charmaine Jialing Cai, Julian Ching Wei Wee Aug 2013

Transborder Industrialization And Singapore's Regionalization Strategy: Singapore's Industrial Parks In Indonesia And China - Boom, Bane Or An Ongoing Game?, Caroline Yeoh, Charmaine Jialing Cai, Julian Ching Wei Wee

Caroline Yeoh

Singapore’s regionalization program is centred on a number of industrial township developments in China, India and several Southeast Asian countries. These townships are led by Singapore government-linked companies and are premised on the perception that Singapore’s positive reputation with multinational corporations, for efficient industrial infrastructure and stable, corrupt-free administration, will give the townships a marketing advantage. Their progress is a litmus test of Singapore’s ability to export its efficiency in industrial park development and management outside its borders. This paper discusses the origins and progress of the four largest and most advanced townships, two in Indonesia and two in China. …


The Singapore 'Advantage' In Suzhou, China: Premium Or Perception?, Caroline Yeoh, Di Kun Goh, Victor Sim, Norhanna Yumi Aug 2013

The Singapore 'Advantage' In Suzhou, China: Premium Or Perception?, Caroline Yeoh, Di Kun Goh, Victor Sim, Norhanna Yumi

Caroline Yeoh

This paper revisits Singapore’s industrial development in Suzhou, China, which has been in operation for more than a decade. We aim to glean insights from this experiment and more importantly, to verify recent claims of it generating political gain and economic capital for Singapore. The flagship project took on an identical framework as the other Singaporean transborder industrialization ventures in the region by adopting Singapore’s expertise and reputation for an efficient and stable government and investment environment. These measures were coupled with the combination of local-specific advantages in the region, such as availability of cheaper labour and market access. Singapore’s …


Do Singaporeans Spend Too Much On Housing?, Sock Yong Phang Jun 2013

Do Singaporeans Spend Too Much On Housing?, Sock Yong Phang

PHANG Sock Yong

According to a 2011 IMF study, Singapore's level of government intervention in housing finance is the highest in the developed world (Slide 3). This level of intervention in housing finance has correspondingly produced the highest level of homeownership amongst advanced countries. This housing outcome is the result of our very unique HDB-CPF housing framework – an institutional framework that was established in the 1960s during the formative period of our country?s history (Slides 4 and 5). Singapore was, at that particular point in time, faced with a situation of chronic housing shortage, low homeownership rates and an underdeveloped housing mortgage …


Issues In Human Capital Development : Lessons For Public Administration And Governance, Deogratias Harorimana Mr Oct 2011

Issues In Human Capital Development : Lessons For Public Administration And Governance, Deogratias Harorimana Mr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

With few minerals or other natural resources, Rwanda believes that she can still achieve her ambitions by investing in human capital - her unique resource. If this ambition can be achieved, then is this the next role model for international development? We used a case study design and analysis methods to examine development models used elsewhere in recent decades, using both qualitative and quantitative data on Rwanda to establish the comparative advantages in relation to Singapore’s economic development model. The implications for international development are that (1) an effective human capital development strategy should be inclusive enough to respond to …


Asian Expatriate Development: A Comparative Study Of Japanese, Korean And Singaporean Expatriates, A. Ahad M. Osman-Gani, Wee Liang Tan Jan 2011

Asian Expatriate Development: A Comparative Study Of Japanese, Korean And Singaporean Expatriates, A. Ahad M. Osman-Gani, Wee Liang Tan

Wee Liang TAN

Owing to rapid internationalization of business activity, human resource development (HRD) has become increasingly important in recent years. This is especially true when domestic human resource management takes on international dimensions as it deals more with multicultural workforce. International HRD, much of it embodied in cross-cultural training, has been proposed by many scholars as a means of facilitating more effective interaction among managers, employees and customers from different national-cultural backgrounds. Despite the need for cross-cultural skills and the shortage of managers who possess these skills, most human resource decision-makers do nothing in terms of cross-cultural training for their employees. Studies …


Selection Of Expatriates For Regional Business Operations In Asia: A Study Of Mne Managers In Singapore, A. Ahad M. Osman-Gani, Wee Liang Tan, Thian Ser Toh Jan 2011

Selection Of Expatriates For Regional Business Operations In Asia: A Study Of Mne Managers In Singapore, A. Ahad M. Osman-Gani, Wee Liang Tan, Thian Ser Toh

Wee Liang TAN

The recent interest for regionalization of business operations in Asia underscores the demand for expatriates. While much has been written on expatriation, very little was documented on expatriates assigned in Asian countries. In this respect, American, German, Japanese and Korean MNEs have been found to take active interests in regional expansion of business in Asia. Expatriation is a significant international management issue for them. The high costs of expatriation and the risks for expatriate failures also underscore this importance. As such, selecting the right candidate for expatriation success is a crucial issue for these MNEs. This paper presents the findings …


Achieving Growth Through Corporate Partnerships And Joint Ventures: Will Singapore's Strategic Leap Into The Region Work?, Ravinder K. Zutshi, Wee Liang Tan Jan 2011

Achieving Growth Through Corporate Partnerships And Joint Ventures: Will Singapore's Strategic Leap Into The Region Work?, Ravinder K. Zutshi, Wee Liang Tan

Wee Liang TAN

One of the characteristic features of the East Asian economic development strategy has been the interventionist role of the government in the economic sphere (Amsden 1989; Kwon 1994; Wade 1990; Zutshi and Gibbons 1998). Governments in East Asia have traditionally, worked closely with the private sector. As a result unique business systems embedded in networks and alliances have evolved in countries like Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Singapore (Hamilton and Biggard 1988). Singapore has attempted to extend this model of strategic cooperation beyond its borders into the region. Schein (1996) identifies a number of major development eras in the evolution of …


Tourism Growth In Singapore: An Optimal Target, Habibullah Khan, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh Dec 2010

Tourism Growth In Singapore: An Optimal Target, Habibullah Khan, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh

PHANG Sock Yong

No abstract provided.


The Singapore Model Of Housing And The Welfare State, Sock Yong Phang Dec 2010

The Singapore Model Of Housing And The Welfare State, Sock Yong Phang

PHANG Sock Yong

While Singapore is not generally regarded as a welfare state, the provision of housing welfare on a large scale has been a defining feature of its welfare system. The extensive housing system has played a useful role in raising savings and homeownership rates as well as contributing to sustained economic growth in general and development of the housing sector in particular. Few would dispute the description of Singapore’s housing policies as 'phenomenally successful' (Ramesh, 2003). Singapore’s economic growth record in the past four decades has brought it from third world to first world status (Lee, 2000), with homeownership widespread at …


The Multiplier Effect: Singapore's Hospitality Industry, Habibullah Khan, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh Dec 2010

The Multiplier Effect: Singapore's Hospitality Industry, Habibullah Khan, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh

PHANG Sock Yong

Tourism's contribution to Singapore's economy has increased over time. Tourism contributed 11.9% to Singapore's GDP in 1992, about half of that from direct revenues. Indirect and induced sources contributed about equally to the other half. While the direct effect of tourist expenditures on the Singapore economy are predominant, the indirect and induced effects are also significant, indicating strong sectoral linkages within the local economy, especially with respect to the hospitality industry.


Linkages Between Industrialization Strategies And Industrial Relations/Human Resource Policies: Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, And India, Sarosh Kuruvilla Sep 2008

Linkages Between Industrialization Strategies And Industrial Relations/Human Resource Policies: Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, And India, Sarosh Kuruvilla

Sarosh Kuruvilla

The case studies of Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and India presented in this paper support the author's contention that a country's industrialization strategy for economic development profoundly influences its industrial relations (IR) and human resources (HR) policy goals. The author finds that import substitution industrialization was associated with IR/HR policy goals of pluralism and stability, while a low-cost export-oriented industrialization strategy was associated with IR/HR policy goals of cost containment and union suppression. In countries that moved from a low-cost export-oriented strategy to a higher value added export-oriented strategy, the focus of IR/HR policy goals shifted from cost containment to …