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Full-Text Articles in Asian Studies

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

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

Research Collection School Of Economics

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 …


Does Child Sponsorship Have A Positive Impact On The Quality Of Life And Social Behavior Of Sponsored Children? Evidence From Indonesia, Mario Carrillo Apr 2013

Does Child Sponsorship Have A Positive Impact On The Quality Of Life And Social Behavior Of Sponsored Children? Evidence From Indonesia, Mario Carrillo

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

Relaxing internal constraints of individuals at early stages of life is an approach that complements traditional policy interventions aimed to alleviate poverty. The Compassion International child sponsorship program focuses their work on the emotional, social, and spiritual development of sponsored children. This study uses age-eligibility as an instrument for sponsorship to investigate the impacts of child sponsorship on self-esteem, aspirational reference points, aspirational capital, reciprocity and patience. It also implements an innovative way of constructing summary indices using a method proposed by Anderson, M (2008). Results reveal child sponsorship does not have an effect on the sponsored children. In fact, …


Dharma And The Free Market: Reconciling Buddhist Compassion With A Market Economy In Post-Socialist Mongolia, Yazmeen Mendez Nuñez Apr 2013

Dharma And The Free Market: Reconciling Buddhist Compassion With A Market Economy In Post-Socialist Mongolia, Yazmeen Mendez Nuñez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this inductive ethnographic study, I explore the unique social and theological pressures placed on Mongolian Buddhists after the wake of free market transition in Mongolia. It utilizes the Buddhist virtue of compassion as a lens by which the study might examine how Mongolians balance their spirituality and commitment to Buddhist ethics with new roles as rational agents in an emergent free market. In this study I draw on narratives from thirteen subjects as well as extensive participant observation to examine the ways that Mongolian market reform has guided social paradigms of ethic that present ethical contradictions with Buddhist dharma, …


Impact Of Food Inflation On Poverty In The Philippines, Tomoki Fujii Apr 2013

Impact Of Food Inflation On Poverty In The Philippines, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

We simulate the impact of food inflation between June 2006 and June 2008 on poverty across different areas and between agricultural and non-agricultural households. We explicitly treat the spatial heterogeneity in food inflation and the differences in consumption and production patterns across households by merging household expenditure survey and price datasets at the provincial level or lower. Although some of the poor agricultural households may have escaped poverty, the poorest of the poor, whether they are in an agricultural household or not, are severely and adversely affected by the food inflation.


Decomposing The Changes Of The Divisia Price Index: Application To Inflation In The Philippines, Tomoki Fujii Mar 2013

Decomposing The Changes Of The Divisia Price Index: Application To Inflation In The Philippines, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

We decompose the logarithmic change in the Divisia price index into the pure price, substitution, and preference effects, although the latter two effects are hard to distinguish in practice. This decomposition allows us to identify the incidence and contributing factors of inflation. In the Philippines, we find that the preference effect is much smaller than the pure price effect in all provinces. We also find that rich deciles have experienced a higher inflation than poor deciles between 1988 and 2006. However, the gap in the standards of living has actually widened because poor deciles lagged behind in consumption growth.


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 …


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 …


Why It’S A High-Speed Game Changer, Tan K. B. Eugene Feb 2013

Why It’S A High-Speed Game Changer, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

SMU Assistant Professor of Law Eugene Tan said that the agreement to build a high-speed rail (HSR) link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore marks a milestone in bilateral relations. He noted that the HSR project is a manifestation of the imperative for Singapore and Malaysia to collaborate closely, leveraging on each other’s complementarities and strengths. Ideally, the HSR link would have a knock-on effect in engendering confidence and momentum in bilateral ties. In the meantime, with the HSR in the making, both governments should work resolutely on other existing plans, such as the Rapid Transit System (RTS) link between Singapore …


“Damning The Dams”: A Study Of Cost Benefit Analysis In Large Dams Through The Lens Of India's Sardar Sarovar Project, Evelyn Wong Jan 2013

“Damning The Dams”: A Study Of Cost Benefit Analysis In Large Dams Through The Lens Of India's Sardar Sarovar Project, Evelyn Wong

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the evaluation of the economic, environmental and social effects of dams, and lessons learned from previous dams. It then focuses on cost benefit analysis as a decision-making tool pre-project for evaluating the potential gains and losses of building a dam; and as a framework for evaluating dams in operation. It reviews the basic assumptions required for a legitimate cost benefit analysis, and the inherent limitations of this method. It uses the Sardar Sarovar dam as a case study for the use and abuse of cost benefit analysis in decision-making, interstate politics, propaganda and activism. It also illustrates …


Explaining The “Explained”: An Examination Of The Gender-Based Education Gap In India And Its Impact On The Wage Gap, Kanupriya Rungta Jan 2013

Explaining The “Explained”: An Examination Of The Gender-Based Education Gap In India And Its Impact On The Wage Gap, Kanupriya Rungta

CMC Senior Theses

Analysis of the National Sample Survey Data from 2011-2012 shows that a gender-based education gap exists. Women are more likely than men to be illiterate. Some parents continue to view household duties as more important than education in the case of girls, causing some to drop out in primary and middle school, which leads to lower experience accumulation. However, females are almost equally as likely as males to be enrolled in school, and an equal proportion of males and females earn higher education degrees. More importantly, the difference in resource allocation seems to be minimal. Although education has a strong, …


India: Subsidy State Or Developmental State?, Annie Jalota Jan 2013

India: Subsidy State Or Developmental State?, Annie Jalota

CMC Senior Theses

India does not fit easily into existing models of thought on the nature of a state and defies ease of understanding. Though India is most often considered to be a subsidy state, I show in this thesis the notion of the subsidy state does not capture the true nature of the Indian state. Chapter two of the paper looks at various models of understanding the nature of the Indian state and draw out three essential features: competing interest groups, how economic liberalization facilitates corruption and works against India’s aim of equalizing the capabilities and freedoms of all its citizens, and …


Impact Of Sovereign Debt Restructuring On Financial Flows: The Case Of Indonesia, Hwee Kwan Chow, C. Adams Jan 2013

Impact Of Sovereign Debt Restructuring On Financial Flows: The Case Of Indonesia, Hwee Kwan Chow, C. Adams

Research Collection School Of Economics

No abstract provided.


Monetary Regime Choice In Singapore: Would A Tayor Rule Outperform Exchange-Rate Management?, Hwee Kwan Chow, G.C. Lim, P. Mcnelis Jan 2013

Monetary Regime Choice In Singapore: Would A Tayor Rule Outperform Exchange-Rate Management?, Hwee Kwan Chow, G.C. Lim, P. Mcnelis

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper adopts a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium-vector autorgressive (DSGE-VAR) approach to examine the managed exchange-rate system at work in Singapore. We examine if the country has any reason to fear floating the exchange rate and adopting a Taylor rule. Our results show that, in terms of overall inflation volatility, the exchange rate rule has a comparative advantage over the Taylor rule when export price shocks are the major sources of real volatility, while a Taylor rule dominates when domestic productivity shocks drive real volatility. The exchange-rate rule also dominates the Taylor rule for reducing inflation persistence.


Can A Financial Conditions Index Guide Monetary Policy? The Case Of Singapore, Hwee Kwan Chow Jan 2013

Can A Financial Conditions Index Guide Monetary Policy? The Case Of Singapore, Hwee Kwan Chow

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this study, we explore the issue of whether a financial conditions index can serve as a useful guide to monetary policy in the context of Singapore. To this end, we construct an index that comprises not only the usual monetary variables like interest rates, exchange rates and credit expansions but also asset prices such as stock prices and house prices. The choice of these constituent series is motivated by the role they play in the monetary transmission mechanism with consideration given to the key role leverage plays in modern business cycles and the risk-taking channel magnified by the prolonged …


Guanxi, Networks And Economic Development: The Impact Of Cultural Connections, Patricia Anne Weeks Jan 2013

Guanxi, Networks And Economic Development: The Impact Of Cultural Connections, Patricia Anne Weeks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the mechanics of guanxi in an organizational setting, focusing on the use of interpersonal relationships within Chinese firms to discover how firms initiate, build and use guanxi networks. Two richly detailed case studies document changes that take place over time in two distinct networks with respect to key actors and their contacts. This research also investigates patterns of social structure that emerge over time in these two distinct cases looking at brokerage relationships, network density, and dyadic redundancy in three waves at six month intervals. The cases are dissimilar in all aspects …


Singapore Inflation Expectations: Expecting The Unexpected, Aurobindo Ghosh, Jun Yu Dec 2012

Singapore Inflation Expectations: Expecting The Unexpected, Aurobindo Ghosh, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

The study of inflation expectations of Singapore house-holds is a multi-disciplinary industry-relevant research that comes out of a partnership between Singapore Management University (SMU) and MasterCard. The research team for this MasterCard-SKBI Singapore Index of Inflation Expectations (SInDEx) project applied rigorous methods using current internet-based marketing survey tools for data-collection and advanced econometric techniques to analyse the data. The updates from the quarterly waves are keenly followed by policymakers, market watchers and the media because of the enormous importance of cost of living to individuals and businesses alike.


Can Us Economic Variables Predict Chinese Stock Market?, Jeremy Goh, Fuwei Jiang, Jun Tu, Yuchen Wang Nov 2012

Can Us Economic Variables Predict Chinese Stock Market?, Jeremy Goh, Fuwei Jiang, Jun Tu, Yuchen Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In the last few decades, we observed a significant increase in global economic activities and these activities may have an impact on both China's economy and stock market. Given the potential impact, we empirically examine whether US economic variables are leading indicators of the Chinese stock market. Prior to China joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the end of 2001, we find no statistical relationship between US economic variables and the Chinese stock market returns. However, we find US economic variables have statistically significant predictive power for periods after China's admission into the WTO. In addition, we show that …


Dynamic Poverty Decomposition Analysis: An Application To The Philippines, Tomoki Fujii Nov 2012

Dynamic Poverty Decomposition Analysis: An Application To The Philippines, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this paper, we propose a new method of poverty decomposition. Our method remedies the shortcomings of existing methods and has some desirable properties such as time-reversion consistency and subperiod additivity. It integrates the existing methods of growth-redistribution decomposition and sector-based decomposition, because it allows us to decompose poverty change into growth and redistribution components for each group (e.g. regions or sectors) in the economy. We extend our method to have six components and provide an empirical application to the Philippines for the period 1985-2009.


Government Documents On Rare Earth Minerals, Bert Chapman Oct 2012

Government Documents On Rare Earth Minerals, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Rare earth minerals contain unique chemical and physical properties such as lanthanum, are found in small concentrations, need extensive precise processes to separate, and are critical components of modern technologies such as laser guidance systems, personal electronics such as Blackberries, and satellites. The U.S. has some rare earth resources, but is heavily dependent on access to them from from Afghanistan, Bolivia, and China. Losing access to these resources would have significant economic, military, and political implications. This presentation will highlight government information resources on rare earth minerals from agencies such as the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), …


Setting The Agenda: Asia And Latin America In The 21st Century, Ariel C. Armony Oct 2012

Setting The Agenda: Asia And Latin America In The 21st Century, Ariel C. Armony

Center for Latin American Studies Publications

Latin America and Asia are among the world’s fastest growing regions. Trade between Asia and Latin American and Caribbean countries has risen dramatically in recent years. It is undeniable that Asia now plays a formidable role in the economic development of the region. This publication emerges out of the University of Miami’s 2012 “Asia and Latin America in the 21st Century” conference, where leaders from academic, policy, business, and media communities from around the world convened to address the macroeconomic trends, trade relations, and sociopolitical trends that have emerged as the links between Asia and Latin America strengthen. Organized …


Detecting Bubbles In Hong Kong Residential Property Market, Matthew S. Yiu, Jun Yu, Lu Jin Aug 2012

Detecting Bubbles In Hong Kong Residential Property Market, Matthew S. Yiu, Jun Yu, Lu Jin

Research Collection School Of Economics

This study uses a newly developed bubble detection method (Phillips, Shi and Yu, 2011) to identify real estate bubbles in the Hong Kong residential property market. Our empirical results reveal several positive bubbles in the Hong Kong residential property market, including one in 1995, a stronger one in 1997, another one in 2004, and a more recent one in 2008. In addition, the method identifies two negative bubbles in the data, one in 2000 and the other one in 2001. These empirical results continue to be valid for the mass segment and the luxury segment. However, the method finds a …


Why Smes Should Aim At Becoming Exporters, Hian Teck Hoon Jul 2012

Why Smes Should Aim At Becoming Exporters, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

In the fortnightly series entitled 'Engage SMU profs', Professor Hoon Hian Teck, Associate Dean of the School of Economics, answers the questions: Should SMEs aim to become exporters rather than serve only the domestic market? What are the benefits to SMEs in doing so? Does the smallness in size limit their productivity growth? Are there any channels for SMEs to get assistance from the authorities, and what are these? He commented that if more of our local SMEs look towards the international marketplace and sell to foreign markets, not only will Singapore's GDP be boosted, local businessmen will also get …


Growth And Inequality In Singapore, Kong Weng Ho Jul 2012

Growth And Inequality In Singapore, Kong Weng Ho

Research Collection School Of Economics

While the strategy of openness had earned Singapore rapid economic growth, upward social mobility, and possibly decreasing inequality in the early years of development, the more recent years saw increasing inequality and with it an underlying possibly diminished upward intergenerational mobility due to skill-biased growth processes, skill-biased parental influence, liberalization in the education industry, and structural changes in the society which hurt the human capital accumulation of children in families under economic and intra-household stresses. In particular, the paternal influence on educational aspiration and attainment is more pronounced than the mother’s. Non-Chinese and youths from disrupted families are worse off …


Changing Unchanged Inequality: Higher Education, Youth Population, And The Japanese Seniority Wage System, Ken Yamada, Daiji Kawaguchi May 2012

Changing Unchanged Inequality: Higher Education, Youth Population, And The Japanese Seniority Wage System, Ken Yamada, Daiji Kawaguchi

Research Collection School Of Economics

Wage inequality declined in the 1990s and rose after 2000 among full-time male workers in Japan. Narrowing wage inequality in the 1990s can be accounted for by a decline in between-group inequality resulting from a stable return to education and decreased returns to experience and tenure. Widening wage inequality after 2000 can be accounted for by a rise in within-group inequality resulting from a relative increase in educated and experienced workers, as well as changes in heterogeneous returns to human capital.


Love And Money By Parental Match-Making: Evidence From Urban Couples In China, Fali Huang, Ginger Jin, Lixin Collin Xu May 2012

Love And Money By Parental Match-Making: Evidence From Urban Couples In China, Fali Huang, Ginger Jin, Lixin Collin Xu

Research Collection School Of Economics

Parental involvement in marriage matchmaking may distort the optimal spouse choice because parents are willing to substitute love for money. The rationale is that the joint income of married children can be shared among extended family members more easily than mutual attraction felt by the couple themselves, and as a result, the best spouse candidate in the parents' eyes can differ from what is optimal to the individual, even though parents are altruistic and care dearly about their children's welfare. We find supporting evidence for this prediction using a unique sample of urban couples in China in the early 1990s.


A Comparative Analysis Of The Transitional Effect Of Democratic Regime Change On Human Rights Development, Alana Mcelhinney Apr 2012

A Comparative Analysis Of The Transitional Effect Of Democratic Regime Change On Human Rights Development, Alana Mcelhinney

Political Science Theses and Capstones

It has been a long-standing topic of discussion within the field of political science on the extent to which the establishment of democratic regime characteristics influences the development of human rights. While there is considerable research in the areas of democracy and human rights, what the literature lacks is research towards the growth of democratic regime characteristics being causal to the development of human rights practices. This analysis shows that a transition in democratic regime characteristics is directly linked to the development of human rights. After completing case-study analysis and developing causal theory I take data from the years 1981 …


Designing And Implementing An Evaluation Of A National Work Support Program, Kong Weng Ho, Irene Y. H. Ng, Thartmalingam Nesamani, Alex Lee, Tee Liang Ngiam Feb 2012

Designing And Implementing An Evaluation Of A National Work Support Program, Kong Weng Ho, Irene Y. H. Ng, Thartmalingam Nesamani, Alex Lee, Tee Liang Ngiam

Research Collection School Of Economics

Welfare reforms in the 1990s have shifted governments around the world towards financial assistance conditional on work. While large-scale rigorous research on welfare-to-work programs has demonstrated effectiveness towards employment in other countries, no such micro-level evaluation of a policy has ever been conducted in Singapore. This article describes the process of developing a large experimental evaluation of the Work Support Program, which the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports started in 2006. The lessons learned from planning and implementing the research can be helpful to future researchers in negotiating long-term rigorous evaluations in an environment where collaborators lack sufficient …


Japan As A Clean Energy Leader, Stefan N. Norbom Jan 2012

Japan As A Clean Energy Leader, Stefan N. Norbom

Gettysburg Economic Review

Over the past several decades, Japan’s energy strategy had positioned it as the world’s leader in clean and efficient electricity production and usage. This strategy, heavily dependent on nuclear energy, was essentially destroyed by one of history’s largest earthquakes, followed by a tsunami which overwhelmed five nuclear reactors on March 11, 2011. As of April 2012, all of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors have been shut down and it is uncertain when and how many may be restarted. This paper examines Japan’s options for crafting a new way forward with an energy policy to power the world’s third largest economy while …


Review Of Daniel Mockli's "Strategic Trends 2012: Key Developments In Global Affairs, Bert Chapman Jan 2012

Review Of Daniel Mockli's "Strategic Trends 2012: Key Developments In Global Affairs, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This review essay describes and analyzes the content of this annual compilation of international affairs essays published by the Zurich-based Center for Strategic Studies.


An Institutional Perspective And The Role Of The State For Chinese Ofdi, Bing Ren, Hao Liang, Ying Zheng Jan 2012

An Institutional Perspective And The Role Of The State For Chinese Ofdi, Bing Ren, Hao Liang, Ying Zheng

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Napoleon called China a ‘sleeping dragon’, but recent economic developments as China enters the twenty-first century show that the dragon is awakening. China has maintained strong economic growth since 1979 and sustained a GDP increase of more than 9 percent over the years. The total volume of economic output increased from 2.8 percent in 1970 to 7.23 percent in 2008, ranking China as the third largest economy in the world (United Nation Statistics Division Statistical Databases). China launched its ‘Go Global’ policy in 1999 to encourage highperforming Chinese firms to invest abroad and upgrade their global competence. Since then, outward …