International and Area Studies Commons^™

Exporting Expertise: The Singapore Experience In Vietnam, Caroline Yeoh, Siang Yeung Wong, Amrit Vaidyanath

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

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. The strategic initiative is premised on the perception that Singapore’s good relations with multinationals, as well as ‘guanxi’, or 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 Indonesia and China, this paper takes a closer look at Singapore’s lesser-known project in Vietnam. Evidence from on-site surveys is presented. It finds that …

Institutional Change And Persistence: The Evolution Of Poland's Electoral System, 1989-2001, Kenneth Benoit, Jacqueline Hayden

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Electoral systems are uniquely distributive political institutions that shape political outcomes, yet are themselves endogenously shaped outcomes of political choices. In Poland, party system development has involved not only parties adapting to electoral institutions in each election, but also parties modifying these institutions prior to every election. We model electoral system change as driven by partisan self-interest in maximizing seat share and test it in five episodes of electoral system change in Poland from 1989 to 2001, comparing parties’ support for electoral law alternatives to their expectations of seat shares from those alternatives. Data consists of opinion polls, roll-call votes, …

From Efficiency-Driven To Innovation-Driven Economic Growth: Perspectives From Singapore, Kim Song Tan, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

The Singapore economy is going through a period of major restructuring. Economic stagnation since the 1997 Asia financial crisis (except for a brief recovery in 1999) has called into question the continued relevance of many fundamental policies that had worked well in the past. In 2002, a high-level Economic Review Committee (ERC) was convened by the government to chart new directions for the economy. A common thread that ran through the committee’s various reports was a call to enhance the economy’s innovative capacity, with the aim of making Singapore an innovation hub in the region. The call reflects an increased …

Integrating Business Opportunities In Contiguous Economies: Perspectives From Singapore's Gambit In Indonesia, Caroline Yeoh, Sang M Lee, W. Ra Jang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.

Indonesian Economic Development: Miracle Or Mirage?, John Malcolm Dowling, Chin Fang Yap

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper focuses on a few major developments that took place during the three decades from the late 1960s to the Asian financial crisis. The study finds, in retrospect, that many of the Indonesian economy's weaknesses--now so glaringly apparent--were there all the time. The paper concludes that the Indonesian banking crisis was primarily domestic in nature, more so than the crises in Korea and Thailand. The extent of the failure was much more widespread and probably resulted from a chain of bank runs and bank closings, reinforced by uncertainty and lack of faith in the government's commitment to the IMF …

How To Be Chinese: Ethnic Chinese Experience A 'Reawakening' Of Their Chinese Identity, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The post-Suharto era is an exciting period for Chinese Indonesians and other minority ethnic groups in Indonesia. After over three decades of cultural and political repression, Chinese Indonesians are now being given the opportunity to express their identity. The re-emergence of Chinese religion, language, and press in Indonesia since the end of the New Order, has had a significant impact on the development of ethnic Chinese identity. The strongly anti-Chinese sentiment expressed in the May 1998 riots in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia, including the looting of Chinese-owned shops and businesses and the racially-motivated rapes, drastically altered the position of …

Re-Examining Public Policy: A Case For Conditional Fees In Singapore?, Gary Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Conditional fee agreements are currently prohibited in Singapore. The Singapore courts still adhere to the public policy considerations expressed in the English common law which proscribe maintenance and champerty. However, the United Kingdom as well as Ontario (Canada) and Australia have recently ‘departed’ from the old system prohibiting conditional fee agreements. It is thus timely for Singapore to re-examine the public policy arguments against conditional fee agreements and inquire whether a conditional fee based system ought to be introduced. Apart from the above jurisdictions, lessons will also be drawn from the problems and issues faced by the US and the …

The Impact Of War And Wartime On Transition To Adulthood: Vietnam, 1940-1990, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

During the latter half of the 20th century, Vietnam experienced nearly continuous wars, including the Vietnam War (1965-1975). Wars afflicted young Vietnamese adults most and left profound imprints on the life course of those who survived. Based on the 1995 Vietnam Longitudinal Survey, my study uses the life course approach to document how war affects the timing and sequencing of early life course transitions for the Vietnamese growing up between the 1940s and the 1990s. The life course transitions examined include leaving school and entering labor force and first marriage and first birth. I study the impact of war by …

What Has Luck Got To Do With Economic Development? An Interpretation Of Resurgent Asia's Growth Experience, Hing-Man Leung, Swee Liang Tan, Zhenlin Yang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper critically reexamines the belief, currently gathering strength in the literature, that economic development depends on good luck rather than on good policy, and that Prometheus is unchained by chance. While it is impossible to disprove the role of luck in growth, we argue that luck is endogenous, and good luck is a function of good policy. Luck favours those who strive. Again contrary to common belief, we show that resurgent Asian economies have endured more, not less, than their fair share of economic volatility. They learned their lessons by success and failures, and luck is endogenous through learning-by-investing.

Get The Smu Edge: Make A Difference [Advertisement], Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Get the SMU edge, make a difference. Featuring Lim Kong Wee, Steven Miller, Darren Lim, Deborah Ong (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Tan Siang Leng.

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Diasporic Tycoons, Outlaw States And Beijing Bastards: The Contingent Politics Of Greater China, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Board Structure On Firm Performance: A Comparison Of Japan And Australia, Ingrid Bonn, Toru Yoshikawa, Phillip H. Phan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article compares the effects of board size, proportion of female directors, proportion of outside directors and average age of directors on firm performance in Japanese and Australian firms. We found that board size and age of directors were negatively associated with the performance of Japanese firms. For Australian firms, outsider ratio and female director ratio were positively associated with performance.

Entry Mode And Performance In A Transitional Economy: A Framework For Foreign-Invested Enterprises In China, Howard Davies, Jin K. Han, Namwoon Kim, Jae H. Pae

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A conceptual framework is developed, bringing together entry mode, the influence of state officials, and the adoption of a customer-driven orientation in order to explain the performance of foreign-invested firms in a transitional economy. The model is tested on a sample of firms in China across eight provinces and cities, spread across the relatively developed South Coast, the Central Belt formed by Shanghai and the Yangzi basin and the less-developed North and West. We find that the decision to enter through a joint venture reduces the customer focus of the enterprise. Contrary to expectation, however, we find no positive relationship …

Road Congestion Pricing In Singapore: 1975-2003, Sock-Yong Phang, Rex S. Toh

Research Collection School Of Economics

Facing traffic congestion in the Central Business District and enormous demands on scarce land resources by the growing number of motor vehicles, Singapore, a small island city-state the size of Seattle, embarked on a bold decision to reduce road congestion by implementing the famous Area Licensing Scheme in 1975. This was a manual system of tolls for multiple entries into the Restricted Zone. While achieving the intended effect of cutting down on the volume of vehicular traffic in the Restricted Zone, the authors (and others) found that the problem of congestion had merely shifted in time and place. Many changes …

Trade, Capital Accumulation And Structural Unemployment: An Empirical Study Of The Singapore Economy, Hiau Looi Kee, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies the factors responsible for the secular decline of Singapore’s unemployment rate over the period 1966-2000 in an environment of low and stable inflation rates. We introduce wage bargaining and unions into a specific-factors, two-sector economy with an export sector and a non-tradable sector to obtain an endogenous natural unemployment rate. Increases in the relative export price and capital stock in the export sector are predicted to reduce structural unemployment. These hypotheses could not be rejected based on structural estimations and co-integration regressions. Empirically, capital accumulation in the export sector explains most of the decline in Singapore’s unemployment …

Why Is China So Competitive? Measuring And Explaining China's Competitiveness, F. Gerard Adams, Byron Gangnes, Yochanan Shachmurove

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper evaluates factors responsible for the competitiveness of China in the world economy and relative to its East Asian rivals. China has been highly successful in capturing world export markets. Chinese competitiveness is not just a matter of an undervalued exchange and extremely low labor costs. It reflects primarily the coincidence of favorable cost conditions with improvements in China’s ability to produce products that meet world market specifications. These improvements are closely related to foreign participation in China’s economy through foreign direct investment and joint venture enterprises.

The Empirical Relationship Between Exchange Rates And Interest Rates In Post-Crisis Asia, Hwee Kwan Chow, Yoonbai Kim

Research Collection School Of Economics

In post-crisis Asia, all crisis-hit countries (except Malaysia) announced a shift from exchange rate based monetary policy framework to the explicit adoption of inflation targeting that uses interest rates as the key monetary policy operating instrument. In this study, we examine the empirical relationship between exchange rates and interest rates, and investigate how the dynamics between them have changed following the crisis. This is carried out by constructing a bivariate VAR-GARCH model for each of the four Asian crisis countries, namely Indonesia, Korea, Philippines and Thailand. The findings suggest these countries do not use interest rate policy more actively to …

National Insecurities: Humiliation, Salvation And Chinese Nationalism, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

While I was researching the South China Sea disputes between China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, I came upon an unlikely refer ence. In an otherwise hard-nosed analysis of the issue, a noted Chi nese expert cited a book called the Atlas of Shame. This odd juxta position of security studies, territoriality, and emotion piqued my interest, and I asked a friend in Beijing to track down this curious book. Once I got a copy of the Atlas of the Century of National Humili ation in Modern China, the correct title, I was fascinated by what seemed to be a unique …

Group Taxation: Ifa Singapore Branch Report, Cecil Duncan Macrae

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2004 - 2005, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

As the Singapore Management University moves into the Singapore centre, a whole new interchange between education and city takes hold in this revitalised urban environment. Bridging the scholastic origins of Bras Basah with the promise of the new millennium, SMU is at the centre of a new and dynamic educational hub where foundations are being readapted and the future redefined. Every facet of the SMU experience – academic programmes and research, faculty and staff enterprise, student activity and exploration – embraces the University’s passion for creativity, personal interchange and bold challenge.

Peoples Union For Civil Liberties V Union Of India: Is Indian Democracy Dependent On A Statute?, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

What is the status of a right to vote in the Indian legal system? Is the right a constitutional/fundamental right? Or is it simply a statutory right? Contrary to the decisions of the Supreme Court in the last five decades, this paper argues that the right to vote is a constitutional right: its textual foundation may be located in Article 326. And, in this sense, the Supreme Court has erred in construing the right to vote as a statutory right under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951. Interpreting the right to vote as a statutory right has larger implications for …

A Regional Approach To Human Security In East Asia: Global Debate, Regional Insecurity And The Role Of Civil Society, James T. H. Tang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The concept of human security as a new paradigm presents a particular challenge for East Asia. While the region experienced dramatic political, economic and social transformations in the last few decades, much of the region’s key security concerns are state-focused. In fact East Asian regional security structures that are products of the Cold War era have remained largely intact.

The Great Divide: Considering Section 157a Of The Singapore Companies Act, Pearlie Koh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The manner in which the powers of a company are carved out to be exercised by either the general meeting of shareholders or its board of directors is often a matter of interpretation of the constitution of the company. This approach retains a fair amount of flexibility in the differing models of power allocation that may be adopted by incorporators, but once carved out, the power allocation usually remains sacrosanct until such time as the constitution is validly altered. This was the position in Singapore before 2003. In 2003, the Companies Act of Singapore was amended to include s 157A, …

Revisiting The Asian Values Argument Used By Asian Political Leaders And Its Validity, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Strikes Through The Prism Of Duties: Is There A Fundamental Duty To Strike Under The Indian Constitution?, Shubhankar Dam

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Much of the debates on the legality of strikes under the Indian Constitution has been on the issue of a right to strike. This paper argues that the constitutionality of strikes may be analysed through the prism of duties, i.e. fundamental duties under Part IVA of the Constitution. Strikes were an integral part of the ideals that inspired India's national struggle against imperialism. And, in this sense, when article 51A exhorts Indians to cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired our freedom struggle, it includes a fundamental duty to strike. Invoking the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, the paper argues …

From Principle To Practice: Constitutional Principles And The Transformation Of Party Finance In Germany And Italy, Riccardo Pelizzo

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The paper investigates the development of party finance and party finance legislation in Germany and Italy. The main claim of the paper is that the differences between German and Italian party finance reflect differences in the party finance legislation enacted in the two countries, which, in their turn, are a result of how the German and the Italian constitutional principles were translated into practice.

Congestion Control And Vehicle Ownership Restriction: The Choice Of An Optimal Quota Policy, Winston T. H. Koh

Research Collection School Of Economics

Singapore introduced a vehicle quota system (VQS) in 1990 as part of its overall policy to control urban congestion. While the VQS has reduced the annual growth rate of the vehicle population to about 3 per cent, it has created uncertainty in the cost of vehicle ownership due to the fluctuations in licence prices. This paper discusses three issues relating to the optimal design of a VQS: licence transferability, sub-categorisation, and the choice of an auction format. The analysis shows that licence transferability is not unambiguously desirable, sub-categorisation is highly regressive, and an open auction format results in less aggressive …

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

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

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 …

Notes From An ‘Intelligent Island’: Towards Strategic Knowledge Management In Singapore’S Small Business Sector, Thomas Menkhoff, Yue Wah Chay, Benjamin Loh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This essay outlines some of the benefits and challenges of implementing strategic knowledge management systems in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with reference to respective initiatives in the Republic of Singapore. The article addresses following research questions: What is knowledge management (KM) and why has it become an issue? How can SMEs benefit from strategic KM? What are the potential pitfalls of KM applications in small firms? What are the strategic imperatives of using KM in SMEs? Do small and large firms require different KM systems? What are the critical success factors which have to be considered during implementation? How …

What Are The "Four Roots Of Capacity And Nature"?, Alan Kam Leung Chan

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

During the third century C.E., a debate on the relationship between “capacity” (cai 才) and “nature” (xing 性) captured the imagination of the Chinese elite. Historical sources relate that four views were put forward on the subject, which continued to dominate the intellectual scene during the fourth and fifth centuries. Yin Hao 殷 浩 (306–356), a major statesman and leader of the literati, for example, was known especially for his expertise on the four views of “capacity and nature” (caixing) (Shishuo xinyu 1992, 4.34; cf. Mather 1976, 110).1 Writing in the fifth century, Wang Sengqian 王 僧 虔 (426–485) observed …