Publication Type

Book Chapter

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

2-2019

Abstract

Singapore’s economic achievements have been widely applauded as a model worthy of emulation, particularly by authoritarian and rapidly industrialising economies. Yet, the city-state retains the dubious distinction of being one of the most inequitable countries in the world—in income inequality terms. Singapore is the only developed economy where workers are not entitled to a minimum wage or compulsory retrenchment benefits. However, following the 2011 electoral backlash against the long-serving People’s Action Party (PAP) government, numerous social policy reforms were introduced. But have these social policy reforms been effective in qualitatively addressing income and socio-economic inequality? To address this question, the chapter examines the relationship between the political and social policy dynamics underpinning Singapore’s authoritarian developmental state. The social policy orientation of Singapore’s developmental state is also analysed in relation to other authoritarian and democratic developmental states in East Asia. This comparative approach provides us with the conceptual lens to better understand social policy reforms within the context of an electoral authoritarian developmental state subjected to the electoral and political pressures associated with the forces of economic globalisation.

Discipline

Asian Studies | Economics

Publication

The limits of authoritarian governance in Singapore’s developmental state

Editor

Lily Zubaidah Rahim; Michael D. Barr

First Page

95

Last Page

130

ISBN

9789811315558

Identifier

10.1007/978-981-13-1556-5_5

Publisher

Springer

City or Country

Cham

Comments

SOE collection

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1556-5_5

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