Inequality In Singapore Essay

Widening disparity in Singapore was a trend also observed in other growing economies such as US, Taiwan and Hong Kong. However, in terms of magnitude Singapore was severely affected (Fig 1). Singapore’s mass transition of economies to knowledge based economies could be attributed to this general trend. Skilled workers, who were more educated, were able to utilize career and business opportunities in the globalized world; thus enjoying faster income growth than those who were un/semi-skilled. (3,5)

Figure 1: Trends in income inequality across other OECD countries; Source: Channel News Asia, 2012

The problem was intensified due to Singapore’s sudden shift from a manufacture-oriented economy to a service-oriented economy. In the 1960s and 70s, Singapore’s industrialisation strategy emphasized on labour intensive manufacturing for the export market given Singapore’s small size of domestic market, hence shifting to an open export-oriented manufacturing house. This was when

As an upper class emerges, they earn more social capital and political influence and patronage of elite work establish its interests. This works against equal opportunity. The Singaporean society has become increasingly stratified with an elite class being created from a narrow segment of the population. The privileges of the rich in Singapore give it an unfair advantage over others and makes socioeconomic mobility difficult. Although, there are instances of individuals from low economic backgrounds who make their way up the social hierarchy, these are the rare. Such cases are, however, used by the elite to justify the status quo and present the notion that equal opportunity exists for everyone when, in fact, there is a significant problem of systemic bias against the lower classes that is pushing them into a downward