ABSTRACT
Singapore has achieved impressive economic growth together with a high level of upward mobility since its independence in 1965. However, the growth process seems to have become more uneven, in addition to diminishing growth for a matured economy such as Singapore, which is also a highly open city-state subject to competitive forces from other economies. Recently, Singapore has fared well, evident from the 2020 social mobility findings reported by the World Economic Forum and the decline in the Gini coefficients for the past decade. This chapter discusses the education system in Singapore and the recently formed National Jobs Council, both important institutions for the advancement of social mobility, followed by some forthcoming policies on foreign manpower, and other related policies to tackle inequality and issues of social mobility. Covid-19 gave rise to four consecutive budgets addressing not just immediate and short-term concerns but also planning for recovery and growth in the future. This chapter examines the challenges to social mobility: future growth prospects and processes, fiscal sustainability expecting greater social spending, and opportunities for the middle-income class together with other familial challenges in Singapore. Using a simple model that endogenises inequality and upward mobility, the chapter analyses important past events and future scenarios: the past influx of and future reduction in migrant unskilled workers;preference shift towards equity;early education intervention;and jobs in the future. An office dedicated to coordinating and evaluating various social mobility programmes is recommended. Strengthening the social compact via policies encouraging concern for others will contribute a positive spillover to both social well-being and social mobility in Singapore. © 2020 section and editorial matter, Hain Teck Hoon.
ABSTRACT
The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Singapore was more severe and protracted than the global financial crisis. Singapore responded with easing of the monetary policy stance, reinforcing financial stability, helping individuals to reduce debt obligations, easing business cashflow constraints, adjusting financial regulatory and supervisory protocols to cope with immediate challenges, and enabling the financial sectors to build long-term capabilities. Fiscal responses were unprecedented with four consecutive budgets and two ministerial statements, initially focusing on immediate assistance in respect of jobs, businesses, households, and later refined to providing more sector-specific assistance as the pandemic evolved with more detailed information available, and preparing for post-pandemic recovery and growth. Singapore has accumulated sufficient reserves over the years, which are a strategic asset, enabling it to tackle the negative impact of the pandemic without incurring national debt, thanks to the fiscal prudence and sustainability institutionalized in the constitution. Together with decisive public health measures to curb the spread of the virus, the monetary–fiscal policy mix has been appropriate so far, and the eventual long-term policy effectiveness and transformation of the small and highly open economy of Singapore depend hugely on the global containment of the pandemic, the effectiveness and allocation of the vaccine, and the pace of global economic recovery. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Bernadette Andreosso-O’Callaghan, Woosik Moon and Wook Sohn;individual chapters, the contributors.