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Berita Volume Xxix, Number 1 (2005), Ronald Provencher

Berita

Table of Contents

Editor's Note... 1

Periodicals... 1

Books... 7

Conferences & Calls for Papers... 11

Amnesty International... 11

Prospectus... 12

Research & Production Staff 12

Berita Volume Xxix, Number 3 (2005), Ronald Provencher

Berita

Table of Contents

Editor's Note... 1

Periodicals... 1

Books... 7

Conferences & Call for Papers... 10

Amnesty International... 11

Email from the Chair... 12

Prospectus... 12

Research & Production Staff... 12

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2005 - 2006, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

With the official opening of the city campus in January 2006, SMU marked a new chapter in the history of central Singapore and became an integral part of the area s continual cycle of renewal. Building on the legacy of venerable institutions in Bras Basah that formed the educational hub of yesteryear, our aim is to produce visionary leaders for tomorrow, imbued with a fine sense of ethics and social responsibility for the good of the community.

From its beginning, SMU has been a catalyst for the future development of higher education in Singapore. Two ways that we have done …

Berita Volume Xxix, Number 2 (2005), Ronald Provencher

Berita

Table of Contents

Editor's Note... 1

Periodicals... 1

Books... 6

Conference Proceedings... 11

Conferences & Call for Papers... 11

Amnesty International... 12

Prospectus... 12

Research & Production Staff... 12

Berita Volume Xxix, Number 4 (2005), Ronald Provencher

Berita

Table of Contents

Editor's Note... 1

Periodicals... 1

Books... 7

Professional opportunities: Conferences, Workshops, Fellowships & Publications... 9

Amnesty International... 12

Prospectus... 12

Research & Production Staff... 12

Regionalisation And Singapore's Transborder Industrialisation: A New Perspective On Suzhou Industrial Park, Xun Cai, Lu Gao, Caroline Yeoh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The dynamics of international economic competition have prompted governments to re-examine accustomed policies, and search for alternative strategies, in order to re-position their economies for the future. This paper takes a look at Singapore’s search for a competitive positioning in the global marketplace, and focuses on the city-state’s much-publicized, and controversial, flagship project in China, viz, the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). This strategic initiative is premised on the perceptions that Singapore’s positive reputation with multinational corporations, and ‘guanxi’ (or connections) with regional governments, will give the regional sites a strategic advantage in the competition for foreign investments. Earlier studies have …

Future Job Prospects In Singapore, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

No abstract provided.

The Creation And Economic Regulation Of Housing Markets: A Comparison Of The Experiences Of Singapore And Korea, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Privatization, creation of markets and economic regulation are terms that few would immediately associate with the housing sector. Mainstream housing markets in most of the free market economies of the developed world are regarded as competitive markets, with little need for economic regulation of the market. Regulations that attempt to control behavior directly are generally limited to policies relating to rent control, the provision of rental housing or rental allowances for lower income groups, as well as land use regulations and building controls.

The housing sectors of Singapore and Korea are highly unusual in the extent of government involvement and …

The Singapore-India Connection: A Tale Of Two Industrial Parks, Caroline Yeoh, Wongso Kevin, Wee Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In recent times, Singapore has, as part of its regionalisation strategy, established industrial parks in various countries, including China, Vietnam, and India. The parks are marketed as a winning combination of the host country’s unique location advantages and Singapore-style efficiency and management know-how. Singapore’s foray into India, in particular, was marked by the setting up of the ITPL in Bangalore; a development that met with great success. However, with global businesses shifting interests towards India, and competing industrial parks emerging to meet the increasing demand, ITPL is faced with stiff competition from other industrial parks; and Singapore has since announced …

A Var Analysis Of Singapore's Monetary Transmission Mechanism, Hwee Kwan Chow

Research Collection School Of Economics

The Singapore economy has experienced greater business cycle fluctuations in recent years, being subject to recurrent shocks from the external environment. Given the extreme openness of the economy—Singapore’s export share of GDP is approximately 180%—it is not surprising that the main cause of the increase in economic volatility is a rise in the frequency and magnitude of exogenous shocks. These include the downswing in the global electronics industry in 1996–97, the Asian financial crisis in 1997–98, the burst of the information technology bubble in 2001, and the outbreak of the SARS respiratory disease in 2003. Such a close sequence of …

The Making Of An Innovator, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

Innovators experiment with things to come up with new ideas to improve the quality of existing products, develop differentiated or new products and re-organise business processes to lower costs. In a big corporation, there might be a whole R&D department where innovators are employed to design new blueprints so the company can constantly make new offerings. But innovators can also be found in small enterprises tinkering with recipes, for example, to win new customers. Innovators no doubt derive pleasure from their creative work. Yet, in modern economies, they must be employed in a firm that successfully translates their innovative activity …

Exporting Expertise: A Note On Singapore's Gambit In Bangalore, India, Caroline Yeoh, Amrit Vaidyanath, Siang Yeung Wong

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, through the provision of superior infrastructure, the ability to negotiate investment concessions and, where existing, through the links to influential business groups in the investment location. This strategic initiative is premised on the perception that Singapore’s good relations with multinationals, as well as “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 …

Expectations Formation And Forecasting Of Vehicle Demand: An Empirical Study Of The Vehicle Quota Auctions In Singapore, Sing-Fat Chu, Winston T. H. Koh, Yiu Kuen Tse

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies expectations formation and forecasting of vehicle demand in Singapore under the vehicle quota system. Under the system, a car buyer must first bid for a vehicle license in monthly auctions in order to purchase a new car. We construct an econometric model to test the hypothesis that past bid distributions of the license auctions contain information that car buyers can use to update their expectations about the intensity of market demand, forecast license premiums and formulate their bidding strategies in future auctions. Our empirical analysis indicates that past bid distributions have a good degree of predictive power …

The Singapore "Advantage" In India: A Perception Or A Premium?, Alexandra Si-Lan Wee, Ai Lin Leong, Caroline Yeoh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Singapore’s regionalisation strategy has been applied in various countries, such as China, Vietnam and India, through the establishment of industrial parks. The parks are marketed as a winning combination of the host country’s unique location advantages and Singapore style efficiency and management know-how. Singapore’s foray into India was marked by the setting up of the ITPL in Bangalore, and furthered by its venture into a future phase of HITEC City, based on her success in Bangalore. However, with global businesses shifting interests towards India, and competing industrial parks emerging to meet the increasing demand, ITPL is faced with stiff competition …

Integrating Business Opportunities In An Emerging Asian Economy: Perspectives From Singapore's Gambit In Vietnam, Ai Lin Leong, David David, Caroline Yeoh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

To date, Singapore’s regionalization strategy has been applied in China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam through the establishment of industrial parks. The nexus between these ‘clones’ is the implantation of Singapore’s positive business ethos amidst more uncertain host environments. Leveraging on world-class infrastructure, efficiency and location-specific advantages, these industrial parks present themselves as low-cost investment enclaves. This paper focuses on the regional industrial development project assembled, administered and promoted by the sovereign national governments of Singapore and Vietnam. Using in-depth case studies, it examines the push-pull factors for firms with different structures. It finds that progress in this privileged foreign investment …

Expectations Formation And Forecasting Of Vehicle Demand: An Empirical Study Of The Vehicle Quota Auctions In Singapore, Sing-Fat Chu, Winston T. H. Koh, Yiu Kuen Tse

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies the expectations formation and forecasting of vehicle demand in Singapore under the vehicle quota system. Under the system, a car buyer must first bid for a vehicle license in monthly auctions in order to purchase a new car. We construct an econometric model to test the hypothesis that past bid distributions of the license auctions contain information that car buyers can use to update their expectations about the intensity of market demand, forecast the license premiums and formulate their bidding strategies in future auctions. Our empirical analysis indicates that past bid distributions have a good degree of …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Berita Volume Xxviii, Number 2 (2004), Ronald Provencher

Berita

Table of Contents

Editor's Note... 1

Remembrance: James J. Puthucheary...1

Periodicals... 3

Books... 9

Amnesty International... 12

Distinguished Speaker... 12

Call for Papers... 12

Prospectus... 12

Research & Production Staff... 12

Berita Volume Xxviii, Number 1 (2004), Ronald Provencher

Berita

Table of Contents

Editor's Note... 1

Letters & Commentaries... 1

Periodicals... 2

Call for Papers... 7

Books... 8

Film & Video... 11

Annual Meeting... 11

A letter from the Chair... 12

Prospectus... 12

Berita Volume Xxviii, Number 4 (2004), Ronald Provencher

Berita

Table of Contents

Editor's Note... 1

Periodicals... 1

Books... 10

Amnesty International... 11

Professional Positions... 13

Calls for Papers/Conferences... 14

Prospectus... 14

Research & Production Staff... 14

Berita Volume Xxviii, Number 3 (2004), Ronald Provencher

Berita

Table of Contents

Periodicals... 1

Books... 7

Amnesty International... 9

Call for Papers/Conferences... 10

Prospectus... 10

Research & Production Staff... 10

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.

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 …

The Law And The Elderly In Singapore: The Law On Income And Maintenance For The Elderly, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

By 2030, Singapore's elderly will make up a staggering 19% of the population. With such a large proportion of people becoming old, it is timely to pay some attention to the broad spectrum of legal issues surrounding elder. Several sociological and statistical studies have been done on the elderly Singapore, yet relatively little has been written on the law relating to them. Much of the present legislation which directly or indirectly addresses problems of the elderly in Singapore relate to their financial arrangements. Examples of these are provisions relating to withdrawal of Central Provident Fund (CPF) monies and the age …

Transborder Industrialization And Singapore's Regionalization Strategy: Singapore's Industrial Parks In Indonesia And China - Boom, Bane Or An Ongoing Game?, Caroline Yeoh, Charmaine Jialing Cai, Julian Ching Wei Wee

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Singapore’s regionalization program is centred on a number of industrial township developments in China, India and several Southeast Asian countries. These townships are led by Singapore government-linked companies and are premised on the perception that Singapore’s positive reputation with multinational corporations, for efficient industrial infrastructure and stable, corrupt-free administration, will give the townships a marketing advantage. Their progress is a litmus test of Singapore’s ability to export its efficiency in industrial park development and management outside its borders. This paper discusses the origins and progress of the four largest and most advanced townships, two in Indonesia and two in China. …

Service Links And Wage Inequality, Kong Weng Ho, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

In our general equilibrium model, the variety of specialized service links affects international production fragmentation in manufacturing. Decreases in cost of education or fixed cost of service links raise the relative supply of skilled workers, increase service specialization, and decrease the price of aggregate services. Consequently, the market for service- and skill-intensive component manufacturing enlarges, raising relative demand for skilled workers. Empirically, endogenous change in international outsourcing rather than skill-biased technological progress is the main reason for a modest decline in wage gap despite the rapid rise in relative supply of skilled workers in Singapore from 1978 to 2000.

Psychological Profiling Of Terrorists: Recent Findings From Singapore On Jemaah Islamiyah, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article reviews the contemporary history of psychological profiling of terrorists and then relates this history to recent psychological profiling data on detainees who are allegedly members of a group that allegedly engages in terrorist behavior.