Benjamin Mak and Thng Yi Ren - Economic Society of Singapore

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Executive Summary Population growth is a long-standing concern in Singapore with its dwindling birth rate, and immigration has been viewed as one of the most crucial ways for Singapore to sustain a dynamic workforce and economy. This essay supports the broad thesis that immigration adds to both the quality and quantity of Singapore‟s growth. However, we suggest that immigration must be complemented by a parallel improvement in Singaporean labour and capital in order to prevent its benefits from being overshadowed by the increasingly negative sentiments Singaporeans have expressed towards immigrants. Furthermore, we argue that Singapore‟s immigration policy must continue to be selective to ensure that the right talents are attracted in the appropriate quantity such that the net benefit brought by any single immigrant should not be outweighed by the costs this immigrant may impose on the rest of society. When combined with a drive to promote labour productivity and mobility among lesseducated Singaporeans, an Export-Import bank to fuel local business expansion overseas and initiatives to support the optimal distribution of top talents across the public and private sector, we argue that immigration-led population growth can lead to a win-win situation rather than mutual antagonism between immigrants and Singaporeans. Nevertheless, this essay acknowledges a strong non-economic dimension to immigration because it poses a fresh challenge to our national character, immigrant nation as we may be. Economically speaking, immigration has contributed to wage depression for lower-income earners and increased competition in the labour market especially for inexperienced graduates. This essay acknowledges that such challenges cannot be overcome fully unless immigration is eliminated, but suggests that they can be sufficiently mitigated with the adoption of the aforementioned policy recommendations. Ultimately though, the question of immigration is not one of absolutes: it is one of balancing economic goals against social needs in charting Singapore‟s destiny. Word count: 300 2
Introduction ‘The most superficial student of Roman history must be struck by the extraordinary degree in which the fortunes of the republic were affected by the presence of foreigners, under different names, on her soil.’ Henry James Summer Maine As Singapore recovers from the 2008 financial meltdown, we are again confronted with the challenge of immigration, a demographic trend that has buttressed our economic growth but raised fresh questions about our national identity. With sustained effort to develop Singaporean enterprises and talent however, this essay confutes the canard that immigration and socio-economic well-being are mutually exclusive over the long run. Perceived challenges from immigration Singaporeans often view immigrants as threats to their well-being. This was made starkly clear in the angry petition from residents of Serangoon Gardens in 2008 against the construction of a new foreign workers‟ dormitory near their homes 1 . Although there is strong empirical evidence that immigrants add value to Singapore‟s economy, immigration is often associated with concentrated benefits and diffuse costs 2 . While businesses and the government reap rewards from immigration through cheaper labour and higher taxes, the burden of accepting immigrants here is placed upon society, making it difficult for ordinary Singaporeans to see how they benefit personally from immigration. Following the watershed 2011 elections, the government has emphasised the need to review policies across the board. While this is broadly accurate, there remain two myths surrounding immigration that must be dispelled to clarify the true significance of immigration for Singapore‟s economy. 1 See Forss (2008) 2 Olson (1965) 3
Page 1: "A New Nation of Immigrants Challen
Page 5 and 6: Myth 2: Foreigners steal Singaporea
Page 7 and 8: Strategies for the long run Perhaps
Page 9 and 10: Chart 4 This illustrates the extent
Page 11 and 12: Final thoughts Immigration looks se
Page 13 and 14: —. Study to set up possible expor

Benjamin Mak and Thng Yi Ren - Economic Society of Singapore

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?