International and Area Studies Commons^™

Why Smart Leaders Fail, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In an invited commentary, SMU Behavioural Sciences Institute Director Professor David Chan discussed leadership issues in the Singapore context. He explained how the selection and development of leaders need to go beyond academic abilities to focus on non-academic attributes, especially the ability to make effective judgements in practical situations.

Deterrence Under Nuclear Asymmetry: Thaad And The Prospects For Missile Defense On The Korean Peninsula, Inwook Kim, Soul Park

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The 2016 decision to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) to South Korea has generated multitude of intensely politicized issues and has proved highly controversial. This has made it challenging to alleviate, let alone clarify, points of analytical and policy tensions. We instead disaggregate and revisit two fundamental questions. One is whether THAAD could really defend South Korea from North Korean missiles. We challenge the conventional “qualified optimism” by giving analytical primacy to three countermeasures available to defeat THAAD–use of decoys, tumbling and spiral motion, and outnumbering. These countermeasures are relatively inexpensive to create but exceedingly difficult to offset. …

An Analysis Of Z-Scores And Performance: Manufacturing Companies In Hong Kong, S.L. Foo, Shaakalya Pathak

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Hong Kong is a key leading economy in the Asia Pacific region. This study examines the relationship between the financial health, as measured by the Altman Z-Score, and corporate performance, as measured by the Return on Equity (ROE), of listed manufacturing companies in this market. A linear regression has been conducted between these variables to determine the magnitude and direction of their relationships. The trends of Z-Scores over a five-year period have also been analysed. The analysis covers the period from 2013 to 2017 (inclusive) and yields a statistically positive correlation between ROE and the Z-Score for the market. Hong …

Dare To Be Different? Conformity Versus Differentiation In Corporate Social Activities Of Chinese Firms And Market Responses, Yanlong Zhang, Heli Wang, Xiaoyu Zhou

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Building on the literature on optimal distinctiveness, this study explores the effects of conformity and differentiation in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on the evaluations by security analysts and the responses of the financial market in general. We develop the argument that while conformity in CSR scope enhances analyst coverage, differentiation in CSR emphasis leads to more-favorable analyst recommendations and higher market value. This suggests that firms may be able to simultaneously conform in CSR scope and differentiate in CSR emphasis to achieve optimal distinctiveness. To further enhance our understanding of the variation in the relationship between conformity/differentiation and the …

Mapping Cultural Tightness And Its Links To Innovation, Urbanization, And Happiness Across 31 Provinces In China, Roy Y. J. Chua, Kenneth Huang, Mengzi Jin

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We conduct a 3-y study involving 11,662 respondents to map cultural tightness—the degree to which a society is characterized by rules and norms and the extent to which people are punished or sanctioned when they deviate from these rules and norms—across 31 provinces in China. Consistent with prior research, we find that culturally tight provinces are associated with increased governmental control, constraints in daily life, religious practices, and exposure to threats. Departing from previous findings that tighter states are more rural, conservative, less creative, and less happy, cultural tightness in China is associated with urbanization, economic growth, better health, greater …

East Asian Low Marriage And Birth Rates: The Role Of Life History Strategy, Culture, And Social Status Affordance, Jose Yong, Norman P. Li, Peter K. Jonason, Yi Wen Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although economic development is broadly associated with low fertility, countries with a predominantly East Asian cultural population exhibit the lowest fertility rates in the developed world. This study (N = 243) examined social status affordance (SSA) as a novel factor underlying cultural variations in marriage and childbearing attitudes. Drawing from a life history perspective, we argue that SSA reflects the availability and ease of attaining social status from the environment, which then influences people's reproductive motivations. We found that strong competition for prestigious jobs in developed East Asian countries, which is hypothesized to be an outcome of their collectivistic nature …

Disjunctures Of Belonging And Belief: Christian Migrants And The Bordering Of Identity In Singapore, Lily Kong, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Migration results in people that are different from one another living in closer physicalproximity. Proximity increases the chances of encountering difference, and can lead to boththe formation of new communities, and the strengthening of old. As a religion that claims tointegrate people into a trans-ethnic, trans-territorial faith community, Christianity encouragessuch encounters, whilst Christian groups play an important role in mediating them.Disjunctures of belonging and belief are the outcomes that arise from encounters withdifference within spaces of Christianity. Drawing on 100 interviews conducted betweenAugust 2017 and February 2018, this paper unravels these disjunctures through a focus on theinterplay between migrant and …

Enlarged Panels In The Court Of Appeal Of Singapore, Kwan Ho Lau

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

For many years the Court of Appeal of Singaporegenerally sat with no more than three judges to hear cases. Since 2014, however, quintets have increasingly been constituted in that court. This articleconsiders the recent practice in Singapore and, drawing on comparisons with theposition in some other Commonwealth jurisdictions, offers a few thoughts on its possible operation in the future.

Building An Equitable And Inclusive City Through Housing Policies: Singapore’S Experience, Sock Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Inequality is an age-old concern. In recent years, the rise of income inequality has received worldwide media and policy attention, beginning with the Occupy movement of 2011-2012 and a wave of notable scholastic books such as Stiglitz (2012), Piketty (2014), and Atkinson (2015). Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century, an unlikely bestseller, contained a vast amount of data showing that the rich are taking rising shares of income and wealth in the advanced economies. Piketty’s approach towards capital and wealth is an aggregative one, and he does not treat real estate or land as a different or distinct form of …

Illusion Of Gender Parity In Education: Intrahousehold Resource Allocation In Bangladesh, Sijia Xu, Abu S. Shonchoy, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

A target in the Millennium Development Goals—gender parity in all levels of education—is widely considered to have been attained. However, measuring gender parity only through school enrollment is misleading, as girls may lag behind boys in other educational measures. We investigate this with four rounds of surveys from Bangladesh by decomposing households’ education decisions into enrollment, education expenditure, and share of the education expenditure allocated for the quality of education like private tutoring. We find a strong profemale bias in school enrollment but promale bias in the other two decisions. This contradirectional gender bias is unique to Bangladesh and partly …

Review Of China’S Peasant Agriculture And Rural Society, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Jan Douwe van de Ploeg, Jingzhong Ye and their colleagues have written an important book that will rekindle old debates and spark new discussions in the fields of critical agrarian studies and China studies. The book is a collection of 12 chapters, each coauthored by members of the research team. The two editors are also the key authors, with de Ploeg involved in all 12 chapters and Ye in eight. Together, the chapters provide a comprehensive coverage of topics central to the rural economy and livelihoods in China, and to theories in critical agrarian studies.

Oral History Interview With Lily Kong (Part 2), Lily Kong

Oral History Collection

The interview covered:

• Research - Capacity building
• Teaching & Curriculum - Postgraduate professional programs
• Presidents - Internal and external role
• Presidents - Garden metaphor
• Leadership styles, group dynamics
• Challenges & Future - A relatively young university
• Concept & Values - Making a difference in higher education
• Challenges & Future - Healthy competition, cooperation and collaboration
• Personal Reflection - As a woman in senior management
• Advice for Students - Dare to dream
• Presidents - Learning & delegating
• Personal Reflection - Getting a different perspective
• Advice for Students - Know yourself and find a good fit

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2018: Full Year Overview, Institute Of Service Excellence, Smu

Research Collection Institute of Service Excellence (2007-2024)

The Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) computes customer satisfaction scores at the national, sector, sub-sector, and company levels. The CSISG serves as a quantitative benchmark of the quality of goods and services produced by the Singapore economy over time and across countries. The fourth quarter results mark the end of measurement for CSISG 2018. Singapore’s 2018 national score was computed using the data collected during these four quarters.

Reviewing The Oecd's And The Eu’S Assessment Of Singapore's Development And Expansion Incentive, Frederik Boulogne

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This paper analyses and describes which norms can be derived from the OECD’s and the EU’s work on preventing harmful taxation that influence how Singapore should design and administer its Development and Expansion Incentive (‘DEI’). This analysis is relief upon in reviewing the Forum on Harmful Tax Practice’s conclusion that the DEI is not harmful and the decision not to place Singapore on the EU’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions; a decision that suggests that the Council of the European Union considers Singapore to have adequately implemented the minimum anti-BEPS standards, of which BEPS Action 5 is one. These verdicts are, …

The Impact Of Double Tax Treaties On Inward Fdi In Asean Countries, Yue Dong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This study aims to assess the impact of double taxation treaties (DTT) on FDI inflows in 10 ASEAN countries from 1989 to 2016. There are two objectives of double taxation treaties. The first one is to alleviate the problem of global double taxation, which has a stimulating effect on FDI. The second objective is the sharing of information between governments, which can prevent tax evasion and thus discourage FDI. The findings suggest that new DTTs in ASEAN have a positive but insignificant impact on the FDI inflows into the region. However, the impact of old DTTs on FDI is significantly …

A Step Forward For Tax Dispute Resolution Between China And Asean Countries Under The Belt And Road Initiative, Diheng Xu

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

China has a closer business relationship with Southeast Asian countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). To ensure tax certainty for the investment, it is necessary to establish an effective and efficient tax dispute resolution mechanism. The mutual agreement procedure (MAP) is the primary means, but it has its limitations, especially for countries in this region. Arbitration could be a powerful complementary to the MAP. China has established a new BRI Court-connected and Mediation Centre (Centre) that aims to resolve commercial disputes in this region. It seems like a new alternative for resolving tax disputes since it combines mediation …

Pro-Development Dispute Resolution Mechanisms And Norms For Investment And Commercial Disputes In Asean, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The establishment of the AEC in December 2015 marked an important milestone in the acceleration of regional economic integration. In the next ten years, according to the AEC Blueprint 2025, an area of focus for ASEAN is the development and promotion of MSMEs. Transnational transactions within and with ASEAN will therefore continue to rise, which will undoubtedly lead to a concomitant increase in the volume as well as the complexity of disputes. This chapter explores the strategic development of innovative approaches to facilitate the resolution of investor-state and commercial disputes in ASEAN. It argues that the creation of new dispute …

How To Be Singaporean: Becoming Global National Citizens And The National Dimension In Cosmopolitan Openness, Wen Li Thian

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper looks at how cosmopolitanism is practised amongst Singaporeans who have experienced Singapore’s education reform in the 1990s. Cosmopolitanism in Singapore is tied to state-intervention with a national orientation. To complement Singapore’s push towards cosmopolitanism, the education reform in the 1990s promoted the idea of a national citizen with a global orientation. I looked at 40 Singaporeans born after the year 1990 to investigate cosmopolitan attitudes that have emerged from the tensions between cosmopolitanism and nationalism. To meet the state’s ideals of cosmopolitanism, these Singaporeans employed strategies to practice a particular form of cosmopolitan openness which prioritise national interests. …

How Does Energy Matter? Rural Electrification, Entrepreneurship, And Community Development In Kenya, Antoine Vernet, Jane N. O. Khayesi, Vivian George, Gerard George, Abubakar S. Bahaj

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine the impact of rural electrification on individuals and businesses within a community in order to test a resource-based theory of entrepreneurship. We show that access to electricity increases average households’ income and entrepreneurial activities. The impact of electricity on entrepreneurial activity has wide-ranging implications for development policy in countries where access to electricity is sparse. Results show a significant difference in entrepreneurial opportunities with respect to firm formation, with the electrified site reporting more new micro-enterprises than the control site after implementation. Electrification affects both households’ income, individuals’ perceptions of their social position, and opportunities for business development. …

Academia-Industry Alliance Can Boost Accountancy In Laos, Clarence Goh, Sanva Saephan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Surrounded by Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam, the landlocked nation of Laos has often struggled to escape from the shadows of its larger neighbours. However, Laos has steadily opened its doors to the world over the past few decades and has developed ambitious plans to grow its economy. ... It was in the spirit of deepening collaboration that we embarked on a recent study trip to the Laotian cities of Vientiane and Luang Prabang with 29 undergraduate students from Singapore Management University (SMU).

Agility In Responding To Disruptive Digital Innovation: Case Study Of An Sme, Calvin M. L. Chan, Say Yen Teoh, Adrian Yeow, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Disruptive digital innovation (DDI) often creates hypercompetitive market environment that forces firms to be agile to survive and remain competitive. Whereas most studies have focused on larger firms' effort to be agile, few have looked at how small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) respond to DDI. The study attempts to answer the research question of how SMEs achieve agility to respond to DDI. Drawing on a case study of an innovative SME, our study develops a framework on agility based on the processes of mitigating organizational rigidity, developing innovative capabilities, and balancing the tension of organizational ambidexterity. Specifically, our findings show …

Corporate Governance: Avoid The Groupthink Pitfall, Themin Suwardy

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Consensus due to similar personal backgrounds, lack of diversity in views and failure to see things from others’ perspective can lead to bad decisions.

Implementation Of A Multi-Agent Environmental Regulation Strategy Under Chinese Fiscal Decentralization: An Evolutionary Game Theoretical Approach, Ke Jiang, Daming You, Ryan Knowles Merrill, Zhendong Li

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Evolutionary game theory (EGT) provides a powerful tool with which to unpack the interactive strategies of polluting enterprises (PEs), local government regulators (LG), and central government planners (CG) in China. Here, the prevailing institutional system of fiscal decentralization sees regulatory mandates set by the CG and enforced at the LG level. This delegation shapes managers' incentives when deciding the degree to which firms will incur costs to reduce pollution and comply with state directives. Manager's choice sets draw shape from decisions at the LG level, where regulators balance the pursuit of environmental quality with the economic payoffs of tacit collusion …

Revisiting The Miller-Kanazawa Debate: Should Asia Be Afforded More Attention From Evolutionary Psychologists?, Sean Teck Hao Lee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A decade ago, Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa and Dr. Geoffrey Miller, two renowned evolutionary psychologists, participated in a debate on whether evolutionary psychologists should focus on Asia in their quest to establish a stronghold in the general field of psychology. Despite painstaking efforts to foster greater receptiveness among Western psychologists toward an evolutionary perspective of psychological phenomena, most still seem to be critically reserved toward it; favoring instead proximate sociocultural explanations of psychological phenomena as stipulated by the standard social science model. Facing such an inertia, Miller suggested that it may perhaps be wise to re-direct the field's efforts on the …

Religious Urbanism In Singapore: Competition, Commercialism And Compromise In The Search For Space, Orlando Woods

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores the recursive relationship between religious praxisand urban environments. It advances the concept of “religious urbanism” to showhow urban environments play an active role in shaping the praxis of religion,and how religious groups adopt secular logics in response to the pressures ofurban environments. Such logics have given rise to new, more pragmatic forms ofspatial reproduction that lead to the desecularisation of space. Desecularisationinvolves religious groups diminishing the secular properties of space, ratherthan attempting to achieve any lasting notion of sacredness. Drawing on therestrictive religio-spatial context of Singapore, I demonstrate howfast-growing religious groups are forced to compete, commercialise, andcompromise …

A Network Analysis Of The Singapore Court Of Appeal's Citations To Precedent, Jerrold Tsin Howe Soh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article presents findings from an empirical network analysis of citation practices in Singapore’s highest court. A network of all 987 reported Court of Appeal judgments handed down from 2000 to 2017 is constructed. Network centrality algorithms are used to rank judgments by centrality. Judgments on contract law, particularly on contractual interpretation and terms, emerge as the most central. Based on this, this article argues that more attention can be paid to interpretation per se as a legal skill. More generally, this article establishes a framework for applying network analysis to Singapore jurisprudence on a larger scale.

The Rise Of China And The Antarctic Treaty System?, Nengye Liu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper examines three dimensions of China’s rise in Antarctica: (1) history (2) activities; and (3) governance. Historically, China was missing in Antarctic affairs for long time. Over the past four decades, as a reflection of China’s rapid economic growth after the adoption of ‘Open Door' policy, Chinese activities in the Antarctic can be seen as rising, especially in science, fisheries and tourism. Nevertheless, this paper argues that rather than having a secret agenda to pursue, China is still shaping up its general Antarctic policy. China’s capacity to advance its interests within the Antarctic Treaty System is not significant either. …

Catch Me If You Can: Claiming Jurisdiction Over An Overseas Defendant: Shanghai Turbo Enterprises Ltd V Liu Ming [2019] Sgca 11, Aaron Yoong, Nguyen Sinh Vuong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The appellant, Shanghai Turbo Enterprises Ltd (“Shanghai Turbo”), is a Singapore-listed company that owns Hong Kong-incorporated Best Success (Hong Kong) Ltd, which in turn owns China-incorporated Changzhou 3D Technological Complete Set Equipment Ltd (“CZ3D”). The respondent, Liu Ming (“Liu”), owned approximately 30% of the shares in Shanghai Turbo. He was also a director of all three companies, and held other management positions there. In April 2017, Shanghai Turbo fired Liu from all his positions in the companies, allegedly because of declining levels of profit under his management. Subsequently, Shanghai Turbo filed a suit against Liu for breaching his service agreement …

China's Approach To The Belt And Road Initiative: Scope, Character And Sustainability, Heng Wang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

As a new form of regional multilateralism, the Belt and Road Initiative is China’s most significant strategic move for external engagement in international economic law, following its World Trade Organization accession. This paper analyses China’s approach towards the Belt and Road Initiative from a legal perspective, focusing on three questions: first, what is the proper scope of the Belt and Road Initiative? Second, is there an identifiable approach that China adopts in the Belt and Road Initiative context, and, if so, what is its key legal characteristic? Third, is China’s Belt and Road Initiative approach sustainable? Employing a functional approach …

Establishing An Asia-Pacific Cryptocurrency Hub, Arnat Leemakdej, Chiyachantana N. Chiraphol

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Asia is leading the way in digital asset markets, but individual countries are taking markedly different paths toward regulation and management in establishing themselves as cryptocurrency hubs, balancing innovation and regulation. Investors should be vigilant about the risks associated with alternative capital-raising methods.