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Relook Link Between Low Wages And Foreign Workers, Hian Teck Hoon Nov 2013

Relook Link Between Low Wages And Foreign Workers, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

He felt that the commonplace idea that the huge inflow of foreign workers in the past decade caused a stagnation and even decline in real wage earnings of Singaporean workers in the bottom half of the income distribution was flawed. He argued that real wage earnings of the median worker actually increased when the number of inflows of foreign workers was reaching its peak. Prof Hoon thus felt that Singapore must now find a means to gear its political and economic institutions to continue to embrace economic openness in the next half-century, in order to be able to deliver good …


Minimum Wage In A Deflationary Economy: The Japanese Experience, 1994-2003, Ryo Kambayashi, Daiji Kawaguchi, Ken Yamada Oct 2013

Minimum Wage In A Deflationary Economy: The Japanese Experience, 1994-2003, Ryo Kambayashi, Daiji Kawaguchi, Ken Yamada

Research Collection School Of Economics

The statutory minimum wage in Japan has increased continuously for a few decades until the early 2000s even during a period of deflation. This paper examines the impact of the minimum wage on wage and employment outcomes under this unusual circumstance. We find that the minimum-wage increase resulted in the compression of the lower tail of the wage distribution among women and that the wage compression is only partially attributable to the loss of employment. The continuous increase in the minimum wage accounts for one half of the reduction in lower-tail inequality that occurred among women during the period between …


The Future Of Wages In Singapore, Hian Teck Hoon Feb 2013

The Future Of Wages In Singapore, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

Prof Hoon discussed the future of wages in Singapore and identified major trends affecting Singapore's labour market over the past decade. He noted that in the future, SMEs that are unable to raise workers' productivity to match the higher labour costs will exit the industry, thus leading to job destruction. Also, for there to be a steady supply of jobs with good pay for Singaporeans, the country would need to continue to attract MNCs by harnessing its relative strength in institutional quality and the availability of a highly skilled workforce. Success in helping SMEs to raise their productivity levels and …


Schemes Work Hand In Hand To Boost Wages, Hian Teck Hoon Feb 2013

Schemes Work Hand In Hand To Boost Wages, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

Professor Hoon Hian Teck discussed how this year's Budget helps both workers and companies push for higher productivity. The Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme in 2007 provided one answer to boost the earnings of low-wage workers. The Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) introduced in Budget 2013 is another innovative policy instrument that works in tandem with the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme to help SMEs on their journey to becoming more productive. Under WCS, the Government covers 40 per cent of the wage increase from increased productivity (obtained through the PIC scheme), leaving the firm with a higher profit. Since …