By Lee Yoong Yoong “Finlandisation” is the influence of a dominant country on the policies of its smaller neighbours. It entails a conscious decision by a smaller country to not confront its more powerful neighbour in foreign relations while maintaining national sovereignty. The term originates from Finland’s decision to not challenge the Soviet Union during the […]

By Donald Low “The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.” […]

Background on the Singapore Economic Roundtable Started in 2003, the Singapore Economic Roundtable (SER) has successfully brought together a selected group of economists, academics, business leaders and policy-makers twice-yearly to discuss pertinent issues facing Singapore’s position in the global economy. The SER assesses current monetary and fiscal policy in the light of changing economic conditions […]

Breakthrough: Roadmap for Singapore’s Political Future by Derek da Cunha. Breakthrough: Roadmap for Singapore’s Political Future examines why the PAP was able to maintain its dominance despite the public’s unhappiness with a number of government policies, and the circumstances and context of the WP’s parliamentary gains. It also provides a prescriptive analysis of how the PAP as well […]

Singapore Perspectives 2011 Edited by Faizal bin Yahya The proceedings from IPS’ flagship conference, Singapore Perspectives 2011 (SP 2011) have just been published. The conference theme was Our Inclusive Society: Going Forward. Convened in January 2011 before the May 2011 General Elections (GE), discussions at SP 2011 were indicative of the changes occurring in Singapore’s society. […]

Asean Matters! Reflecting on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations edited by Lee Yoong Yoong. The initiative to establish the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community was adopted by the ten leaders at the 2003 Bali Summit in Indonesia. Since then, the concept of a community building process in ASEAN has become an issue that attracts […]

David Skilling Across the developed world, countries are facing a series of structural challenges associated with a disruptively changing global environment.  In response, governments are seeking to develop policies to restore competitiveness, to return to fiscal sustainability, and to redefine the social compact.  Singapore too is facing a series of challenges, such as the need […]

After both a cataclysmic economic crisis and a watershed general election, Singapore stands at a cusp of forging a new social compact. By Yeoh Lam Keong, Donald Low, and Manu Bhaskaran – Singapore’s current social compact, founded on the principles of self-reliance, high growth, full employment and a social security system which emphasizes individual savings and home ownership, […]

By Nizam Idris Singapore is increasingly facing the direct opposite of the “oil curse” or the Dutch Disease that afflicts resource-rich countries. The “oil curse” basically led to the over-dependence on natural resources for growth and the neglect of human and other productive resources in the country with rich natural endowment. Singapore, on the other hand, […]

By Sylvia Lim (SP 201, Page 25) Singaporeans must feel empowered at home. To this end, it is felt that the government should retreat from spheres of life that are not central to government functions, and allow authentic leadership to grow organically. Examples of such spheres include sports associations, consumer groups, and grassroots organisations. By facilitating […]

By Cheong Kah Shin, Debbie Soon, and Zhou Rongchen – Post-election, Singapore’s policy makers have been examining the nation’s shifting political paradigm in the face of a better-educated and more engaged citizenry. How should the state respond to calls for more public goods? How should society find its collective footing forward in engendering a more […]

By Rachel Hui and Sarjune Ibrahim S/O Sitheek – Developments in the past decade bear witness to how Singapore’s connection to the global economy has not only produced an economic miracle but also brought keener competition both at home and abroad. Much attention has been paid to the widening income divide, structural unemployment and the necessity […]