Singapore’s Economic Miracle
An Asian Tiger
Singapore, together with Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, is one of the Four Asian Tigers. They were dubbed tigers because of their exceptional economic growth and industrialization rates during the latter part of the 20th century. Now, they are already considered developed countries with high incomes. Singapore is ranked number four by purchasing power parity[1] in the world. This makes it one of the richest countries in the world. All of this was achieved in a short period of time since its independence in 1965.
The Economic Miracle
Singapore is a small island country on the tip of Malaysia without any resources or even arable lands. It is an exciting mixture between roughly five million Chinese, Malays, Indians and Caucasians. Since its independence from Malaysia 45 years ago the country transformed completely from an ex-British trading post into a modern business hub covered by glass skyscrapers. This huge progress is mostly credited to big business leaders and strong political will. The country reached exception growth rates that even now are among the highest among developed nations.
The basis for the success of the little nation is its location. The country has been an important port ever since its establishment by the British in the 19th century. The traditional reasons quoted for the success of the country are Chinese industriousness, strong will, exceptional commercially minded people, a strong sense for respect for authority, and a talent to make money.
More practical lessons can be taken from the actions of the government. Strong influence of the Japanese model development, limited labor union power, strict legislation, planned industrial development, wage control, attracting foreign investment, no import/export duties, and most importantly- long-term economic planning are credited as very strong factor in this process.
Singapore and the Financial Crisis
As a result of the Financial Crisis and the consequent global recession there was a big downfall in the technology sector of Singapore which led to a 2% contraction of the country’s GDP. The government formed a special committee The Economic Review Committee to come up with and implement special policies to alleviate the situation. Since then, the country has recovered as part of the global recovery and has returned to economic growth rates of about 8%.
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew is a legendary statesman in Singapore. He was the first prime minister from 1959 to 1990 and founder of the country’s ruling party- People’s Action Party. He was the person to sign Singapore’s independence in 1965. During the ruling of his successor he was a Senior Minister and during the ruling of the third prime minister (who is his eldest son) he was named Minister Mentor. He is famous for saying that Singapore’s main resource is its people and their work ethic.
Car rental services in Singapore are provided by all the major car rentals companies such as: Avis and Hertz.
[1] Purchasing power parity per capita – method for comparing how well people live by taking a certain basket of goods considering inflation and exchange rate differences