Public Policy And Population Change In Singapore

Monographic collection of contributions on population policy in Singapore - comments on legislation, economic and social development trends, historical and contemporary population dynamics, family planning, fertility behaviour, health services, etc. References and statistical tables.

Presents a comprehensive account of the government's initiatives to influence the course of fertility, and hence the rate of population growth, in the island state of Singapore since the 1950s.

The second edition of Population Policies and Programmes in Singapore presents an up-to-date and comprehensive account of the government's initiatives to influence the course of fertility, and hence the rate of population growth in the island-state of Singapore since the 1960s. The varied population issues and consequences associated with the prolonged below-replacement fertility are discussed in detail. The strength of the book lies in the author's intimate familiarity with the subject acquired through some personal involvement in the formulation of population policies for the country.

Singapore, like many other advanced economies, has a relatively low, and declining, birth-rate. One consequence of this, and a consequence also of the successful economy, is that migrants are being drawn in, and are becoming an increasing proportion of the overall population. This book examines this crucial development, and assesses its likely impact on Singapore society, politics and the state. It shows that, although Singapore is a multi-ethnic society, migration and the changing ethnic mix are causing increasing strains, putting new demands on housing, education and social welfare, and changing the make-up of the workforce, where the government is responding with policies designed to attract the right sort of talent. The book discusses the growing opposition to migration, and explores how the factors which have underpinned Singapore’s success over recent decades, including a cohesive elite, with a clearly focused ideology, a tightly controlled political system and strong continuity of government, are at risk of being undermined by the population changes and their effects. The book also compares the position in Singapore with other East Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, which are also experiencing population changes with potentially far-reaching consequences.

This book depicts the evolution of Singapore’s family and population landscape in the last half a century, the related public policies, and future challenges. Since the country gained independence in 1965, family and population policies have been integral to her nation-building strategies. The chapters discuss the changes in population compositions, family structures, relations, and values among major ethnic groups. They also discuss policies for vulnerable populations such as female-headed households, cross-cultural families, same-sex partnering, the elderly, and low-income families.

This book examines the relationship between population policies and individual reproductive decisions in low-fertility contexts. Using the case study of Singapore, it demonstrates that the effectiveness of population policy is a function of competing notions of citizenship, and the gap between seemingly neutral policy incentives and the perceived and experienced disparate effects. Drawing on a substantial number of personal interviews and focus groups, the book analyzes the developmental welfare state’s overarching emphasis of citizen responsibility, and examines population policies that reinforce social inequalities and ignore cultural diversity. These factors combine to undermine elaborate state policy efforts in encouraging citizens’ biological reproduction. The book goes on to argue that in order to facilitate positive fertility decisions, the state needs to modify the “economic production at all cost” approach and pay much more attention to the importance of social rights. This suggests that the Singapore government might profitably approach the phenomenon of very low fertility with major initiatives similar to those of other advanced industrialized societies. This book offers a significant contribution to the literature on social policy, East Asian and Southeast Asian studies.

This comprehensive book deals with population trends and patterns in Singapore since its founding in 1819. Separate chapters are devoted to population growth and structure, migration, mortality, marriage, divorce, population control, fertility and the labour force. The book concludes by showing that, given the persistent below-replacement fertility rate, the population is expected to peak at about 3.34 million in 2025 and to decline continuously thereafter.