International and Area Studies Commons^™

Competing Logics Of Commemoration: Cosmopolitanism And Nationalism In East Asia's History Problem, Hiro Saito, Yoko Wang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Recent studies in collective memory point to the emergence of cosmopolitan commemoration that takes humanity, rather than nationality, as a primary frame of reference. But these studies have yet to specify how cosmopolitan commemoration emerges and articulates with existing nationalist commemoration. To solve this problem, we examine the “history problem” between Japan and South Korea by focusing on how relevant political and civic actors negotiated cosmopolitanism and nationalism in commemorating Japan’s past colonial rule and wartime atrocities. In light of our historical analysis, we argue that a synthesis of theories of institutional logics and social movements is useful in illuminating …

Tort Law, Kumaralingam Amirthalingam, Gary Kok Yew Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Teo Wei Hsin Lawrence (Zhang Weixin), Tin Yan Ying Geraldine (Cheng Yanying Geraldine) v Management Corporation Strata Title Plan No 1525 [2014] SGDC 350 involved a suit by the owners of a condominium unit (the plaintiffs) against the management corporation of the development (the defendant). Three months after purchasing the unit, the plaintiffs undertook renovation works which were completed after about five months. Prior to moving in, the plaintiffs discovered mould on the interior walls and on their new cabinets located at the rear end of the unit. As the unit was in the corner of the development, the outside …

Managing Private Vehicles In Asian Cities, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Asia's rapid urbanization and growing incomes have resulted in a corresponding booming market in motor vehicle sales. In 2013, an estimated 18 million new passenger cars were sold in China. Motor vehicle users generate congestion, pollution, accidents, noise and road damage. Yet, in most cities motor vehicle users often do not pay the full social costs and are therefore implicitly subsidized by non-users. According to the Tom Tom Traffic Index, which is based on GPS data, motorists in the worst congested cities in developed countries spend up to 40% more time for peak hour commutes. This level of delay is …

Is The Renminbi East Asia’S Dominant Reference Currency? A Reconsideration, Hwee Kwan Chow

Research Collection School Of Economics

Recent empirical studies show that the Chinese currency renminbi is either becoming or has become a dominant reference currency in Asia. However, the high correlation between the US dollar and renminbi movements hampers the identification of their individual effects on the Asian currencies. In particular, the application of Frankel-Wei regressions to determine the weights of the US dollar and the (unorthogonalized) renminbi in the implicit currency baskets could suffer from endogeneity problems that produce an upward bias in renminbi’s estimated weight. This paper reviews the evidence by applying country-specific VAR models to daily exchange rate data from nine Asian economies …

China And America: Avoiding The Thucydides Trap, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Can China supplant the U.S. as the world’s leading power without military conflict?

Manager's Toolbox: Ethics And Values, Ratan Tata, Philip C. Zerrillo

Asian Management Insights

Ratan Tata zeros in on ethics and values as part of the science of management, and India's current economic journey, in this interview with Philip Zerrillo.

Surviving Beyond A Third Generation, Andreas Raharso

Asian Management Insights

Family-owned businesses’ continued survival is unsure. Research indicates the most likely cause is their pursuit of professionalisation.

The Customer Insight Journey Of Amazing Grace, Pradeep Pant

Asian Management Insights

How do you put consumercentric marketing into action? Make it personal!

Commodity Super Cycles: A Reality Check, Maureen Derooij

Asian Management Insights

Do commodity super cycles exist, or are we simply seeing patterns in randomness? More importantly, are we in the middle of one that is showing signs of going bust?

Managing Innovation Risk, Madhabi Puri Buch

Asian Management Insights

Risk in banks is nearly always considered a dirty word. Yet a handful of simple ideas can help manage innovation risk effectively.

2nd Isca Productivity Scorecard And Benchmarking Survey Report For The Accountancy Sector In Singapore, Sze Yee Chan, Clarence Goh, Kay Zin

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

As the national accountancy body, the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) is pleased to publish this secondProductivity Scorecard and Benchmarking Survey Report. This builds upon our inaugural scorecard and benchmarking reportlast year and, more importantly, is in line with our efforts to play a role in the national drive to restructure our economy byraising the productivity of companies in Singapore and helping them move up the value chain.

The Fundamental Law Of Highway Congestion Revisited: Evidence From National Expressways In Japan, Wen-Tai Hsu, Hongliang Zhang

Research Collection School Of Economics

The fundamental law of highway congestion states that when congested, the travel speed on an expanded expressway reverts to its previous level before the capacity expansion. In this paper, we propose a theory that generalizes this statement and finds that if there exists a coverage effect, that is, the effect of longer road length on traffic conditional on capacity, then the new equilibrium travel speed could be lower than its previous level. Given the fundamental law, the theory predicts that the elasticity of traffic to road capacity is at least 1. We estimate this elasticity for national expressways in Japan …

Causes And Consequences Of Corporate Asset Exchanges By Listed Companies In China, Fang Lou, Jiwei Wang, Hongqi Yuan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

China's listed companies often exchange corporate assets with their parent companies. We find that listed companies that have been incompletely restructured from former state-owned enterprises and in sound financial condition tend to exchange higher quality assets for lower quality assets (i.e., tunneling). However, when there is a need to avoid reporting a loss and to raise additional capital, listed companies tend to exchange lower quality assets for higher quality assets (i.e., propping). We also find that the market reacts indifferently to asset exchange announcements. Finally, we find asset exchanges motivated by a tunneling (propping) incentive to be associated with poorer …

Irrational To Expect Low Risk And High Returns, Benedict Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The low interest paid on Central Provident Fund (CPF) balances when compared with the relatively high returns earned by government investment entities such as Temasek Holdings and GIG is a common gripe.

Wealth Management In Singapore, Francis Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

As early as 2015, Singapore may oust Switzerland as the world’s top finance hub. But the path forward requires adjustments in the strategic direction of individual firms. Wealth management in Singapore is vibrant, growing, challenging.

An Oreo With Chinese Characteristics, Srinivas K. Reddy

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In late 2005, Shawn Warren, head of biscuits, Asia Pacific for Kraft, was in desperate need of a quick turnaround strategy. Oreo, after nearly 10 years in the China market was facing the imminent disaster of being completely pulled from the shelves. Local retail channels, along with company headquarters near Chicago, had finally grown impatient of the iconic product's lacklustre sales. When Warren described the turnaround in March 2012, he said, "The first step to solving a problem is to admit you have one. We are committed to have this brand and put resources behind it."

Realistic Ways To Raise Cpf Returns, Benedict Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The CPF Investment Scheme can be modified to help financially illiterate members make better investment decisions.

The New Capitalism: Asia And The Future Of Business, Government, And Society, Ann Florini, Bindu Sharma

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

To have a conversation, the appropriate language is needed. The language is just starting to emerge in both Asia and the West for one of the most important conversations the world is now having—the discussion about the future of business and capitalism. Thailand’s King Bhumibol refers to the sufficiency economy. Harvard’s Michael Porter speaks of shared value. Ellen MacArthur’s eponymous foundation supports the transition to the circular economy. John Elkington proposes breakthrough capitalism. Bhutan’s call to measure progress by gross national happiness (GNH), rather than the narrow metric of gross domestic product (GDP), is now attracting attention around the globe. …

Oral History Interview With Kirpal Singh: Growing Smu, Kirpal Singh

Oral History Collection

The interview covered: first involvement with SMU, risks, admissions process, first priorities, core curriculum, general electives, creative thinking program, student projects, parent interaction, cross-cultural studies, Wee Kim Wee Centre, writers festivals, humanities, arts and culture management, students.

Biography: In recent years Creativity Guru and poet Dr Kirpal Singh has come to be regarded as one of the world's sharpest Futurists, charting territories yet uncharted but certain to materialize in the not-too-distant futures. Dr Singh believes that thinking of the future in the singular sense is no longer going to hold because the Future will be made up of several futures, …

South Africa And Abusive Regimes At The Un Human Rights Council, Eduard Jordaan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There is some dispute over the extent to which South Africa has become a defender of regimes that abuse human rights. This article sheds further light on this question by focusing on South Africa's positions during the UN Human Rights Council's engagement with human rights problems in six countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel, North Korea, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Sudan. In five of the six chosen cases. South Africa's attitude ranged from reluctant to obstructive of efforts to defend human rights. In only one case-Israel-was South Africa willing to bring to bear the full weight of the council's power. …

Long-Term Health Effects Of Malaria Exposure Around Birth: Evidence From Colonial Taiwan, Simon Chang, Belton Fleisher, Seonghoon Kim, Shi-Yung Liu

Research Collection School Of Economics

In the early 20th century, the Japanese colonial government initiated an island-wide malaria eradication campaign in Taiwan, resulting in not only a rapid decline in malaria across time but also elimination of disparity across regions. Exploiting variations in malaria deaths caused by the campaign, we estimate causal effects of malaria exposure around birth on the health of elderly born in the colonial period. To mitigate potential biases caused by measurement errors and omitted confounders, we employ climatic factors to instrument for malaria deaths. Our findings suggest that people who were exposed to a high malaria risk around birth tend to …

Oral History Interview With Sharon Tan: Growing Smu, Sharon Tan

Oral History Collection

The interview covered: first involvement with SMU, risks in joining a new university, roles and responsibilities for corporate communication, first advertising campaign, branding SMU, Bukit Timah campus, first commencement, city campus, Advancement Office, endownments, Lee Kong Chian gift, alumni.

Sharon Tan was the Director of Corporate Communications and Director of the Office of Advancement and Alumni in SMU until 2014.

Customer Satisfaction Index Of Singapore 2013: 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. Customer responses are derived from Singapore’s resident population and visiting tourists, primarily through face-to-face surveys. This study 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 2013. Singapore’s 2013 national score is computed using the data collected during these four quarters.

The Singapore Do Not Call Register And The Text And Fax Exemption Order, Warren B. Chik

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The introduction of a text and fax exemption to the general “opt out” effect of the Do Not Call Registry have led to a debate over the effectiveness of the Registry in filtering out unwanted communication to telephone users. This article provides the background for the Registry and the reasons for the backlash as well as for the exemption. It will explain why the exemption is consistent with the existing policy towards, and legal treatment of text-based messages, but nevertheless question whether the distinction between voice and text-based messages is justified given the overall objective of the Personal Data Protection …

Review: The Color Of Success: Asian Americans And The Origins Of The Model Minority Myth By Ellen Wu, Justin Kh Tse

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Weaving rich institutional histories of groups that have purported to speak for all Asian Americans, like the Japanese American Citizens League and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, Ellen Wu’s The Color of Success meticulously describes how their claims to represent their ethnic communities were vigorously contested by Japanese and Chinese Americans themselves from the 1930s to the 1960s. Wu sets these representational challenges against the larger backdrop of the rise of an American liberal political framework and its assimilationist agenda for racial minorities in the United States in the 1930s, which was produced by the geopolitical challenges of totalitarian fascism …

The Responsibilities Of Lawyers For Their Clients Misstatements And Omissions To The Securities Market In Singapore, Wai Yee Wan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the extent to which lawyers advising on the disclosure documents of their clients issued to the securities markets should be responsible for their clients’ disclosure failures. It identifies the following problems with the current framework. First, there is a lack of objective due diligence standards which lawyers are expected to meet when they are advising on public disclosure documents. Second, except for takeovers, lawyers are not subject to public enforcement actions even if they have not acted with due care and diligence in ensuring that their clients comply with their disclosure obligations. Third, private enforcement actions against …

Improving Money's Worth Ratio Calculations: The Case Of Singapore's Pension Annuities, Joelle H. Y. Fong, Jean Lemaire, Yiu Kuen Tse

Research Collection School Of Economics

This article contributes to a better understanding of the risks involved in a life annuity investment. We examine the distribution of weighted annuity benefits and assess various measures of dispersion such as the coefficient of variance. In particular, we quantify the standard deviation about the expected value, thereby extending the usefulness of the popular money’s worth framework for annuity valuation. The effort toward a more detailed and more accurate risk picture of investing in annuities enables retirees to differentiate among products that may appear seemingly uniform in terms of money’s worth, but vary widely in terms of their risk attributes.

Community-Based Management Of Tricholoma Matsutake: A Case Study Of South Korean Mountain Villages, Terry Van Gevelt

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Tricholoma matsutake (S. Ito and S. Imai) Singer commercialisation provides significant economic benefits to rural communities, mainly in China, Japan and South Korea. Recently, a growing body of research has questioned the impact of commercialization on harvesting behavior and the supply of matsutake. One key question arising from this literature is whether or not community-based management (CBM) has a positive impact on matsutake supply. I surveyed nine mountain villages in Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces in South Korea. Four villages were found to have begun CBM of matsutake in the mid-1980s to early-1990s. All four villages continued to engage in …

The Role Of State Institutions In Non-Timber Forest Product Commercialisation: A Case Study Of Tricholoma Matsutake In South Korea, Terry Van Gevelt

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Two major barriers to non-timber forest product (NTFP) commercialization are a thin market structure and ensuring long-term supply. There is a growing literature suggesting potential solutions to address these two issues. The majority of these solutions, however, marginalize the role of state institutions in favour of other institutional arrangements. This study used the example of (S. Ito and S. Imai) Singer commercialisation in South Korea to show that state institutions can play a leading role in addressing the thin market structure and ensuring long-term supply. Specifically, the Korea Forest Service (KFS) and National Forestry Cooperatives Federation (NFCF) addressed the thin …

Managerial Agency Costs Of Socialistic Internal Capital Markets: Empirical Evidence From China, Jiwei Wang, Kangtao Ye

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

This study provides empirical evidence of managerial agency costs in socialistic internal capital markets. Listed Chinese companies are required to disclose the amount of resources that are reallocated to other firms of the parent company, which provides us with a direct measure of the socialistic subsidization of weak member firms by strong member firms within a business group. We hypothesize that in strong member firms, managerial compensation is less sensitive to firm performance because cross-subsidization makes it difficult for group CEOs to hold the managers in strong firms accountable for their own firms' performance, and also increases the noise in …