The Development of Singapore

Singapore has emerged as one of the most successfully developed nations in the world since establishing themselves as an independently governed Southeast Asian nation. The standard of living within the nation remains as one of the highest in the region and the world at large.

Singapore has continued to establish itself within the international community as an internationally viable economy worthy of both respect and recognition. This has a lot to do with the manner in which Singapore has very wisely chosen to design both their political and economic infrastructures. The geographic location of Singapore has also aided with the rapid rise in both development and standard of living within the city-state. A prime location for international trade within and around the Southeast Asian region, Singapore has taken the opportunities provided by such a location and maximized the benefits to the population and national economy.

A brief look at the history of Singapore reveals that the nation has consistently established itself as a center of trade and, perhaps more importantly, an entry point to the entire Southeast Asian region for vast amounts of trade and commerce. (Wong 1981, 434) After the colonization by the British and the ensuing Japanese occupation during World War II, is when the city began to truly make a name for itself as its own true entity. In the aftermath of its separation from the Malaysian conglomerate that became comprised a large portion of the peninsula, Singapore became its own independently governed entity. The steps which followed were the ones that put Singapore squarely on the track to the position it currently holds as one of the wealthiest and most successful nations on the continent.

The governing authorities in Singapore at first attempted to establish an ISI (import-substitution industrialization) policy within the nation. ISI policies are structured in order to attempt to protect the industries within a given nation by attempting to give production industries within a nation a significant advantage over outside sources which had previously supplied the nation with a given product or service. While these policies common experience a short term boost to growth, as was seen all around the globe in the late 1960s, they eventually cause the economy and development of the nation to stagnate. The quality of workmanship decreases when there is no competition to keep producers honest and the possibility for intra-state corruption and favoritism for certain industries often causes a lack of broad-based development across the entire economy, focusing more on certain areas and allowing others to fall by the wayside. (Weaver, Kusterer, Rock 1997, 61-64) However, Singapore recognized the dangers with ISI policies and quickly remodeled their economic infrastructure to be more firmly based in the export industrialization of the nation, allowing large amounts of foreign investment capital and technology to fund the economy and create higher levels of employment and standards of living. The ability of the Singapore state to recognize that allowing foreign technology and capital to fuel the development of their own nation was crucial in their rapid development. (Wong 1981, 435)

As Barbara Leoper noted in her study of Singapore for the Library of Congress in 1989, the government of Singapore has proven to be a highly helpful aid to the development of the nation. Many times a lack of stability and proper direction within a newly independent nation leads to the same characteristics within the economy. However, the Singapore government immediately adopted the form of a unicameral parliamentary system, much like that followed by the United Kingdom and Canada. The Prime Minister is the head executive position, himself being selected from the members of parliament who are elected by the population of the nation. One thing that perhaps aided Singapore even further was the smallness of the geographic boundaries of the nation. This enabled a much quicker mobilization of this type of government, since it was almost like holding a city election. This form of government has proven to be effective in both protecting the liberty of its citizens and preserving justice and order within the nation. Firm policies involving capital punishment and heavy punishment for criminal offences have kept the levels of crime to a surprising low, further raising the standard of living within the nation. (Loeper 1989)

The actual culture of Singapore shares nearly all of its characteristics with other nations within and around the region, since it was so closely linked with the group of Malaysian provinces previous to its separation and ensuing independence. The one thing that sets Singapore apart from all its neighbors and gives it a huge advantage in economic and commercial enterprises is the level of education and literacy which spans the entire nation. The literacy rate in Singapore is upwards of 95%, making Singapore one of the most highly educated nations in the entire Asian continent, let alone the Southeast Asian region. This literacy rate enables the population to create much higher levels of employment than are found in less literate nations. The high rate of literacy allows for the sustaining of the type of market economy that Singapore has continued to follow for decades now. The inflow of modern foreign technology and jobs from companies outsourcing work to the region is further enabled by the compatibility of such jobs with the educated people of Singapore.

Lee Lai To noted in his examination of Singapore at the turn of the century that human development needs to continue to be forefront in the minds of those responsible for pointing the nation in the right direction for development.

"Plans to produce the skills, talents, and industries needed to compete in the global economy have to be mapped out. As the economy matures, the government and society will have to engage in issues related to political participation; nurturing social bonding and a sense of belonging in a borderless world; coping with an aging population; supporting