The Political Economy Of Privatisation In Singapore

It uses a political economy approach to analyse how Singapore made its growth and development.

`The thesis presented here will not only change the way in which we understand contemporary Singaporean society and the relationship between the state and its citizens, but will also provoke a debate about the social costs of economic development in other parts of the world, and the future security of the island republic - increasingly a Chinese enclave in a Malay sea - in the twenty-first century.' - Peter Carey, Trinity College, Oxford This study examines the development of Singapore's complex system of social regulation in relation to the phases of its economic strategy and political transition. It focuses on the way social control works through public housing and welfare, education, parliamentary politics and the law. It draws out the implications of such comprehensive control for political conflict. Popular explanations for Singapore's success and its status as a model for other developing countries are brought into question.

A study which challenges the dominant understanding of Singapore as a case where "correct" policies have made rapid industrialization possible and which raises questions about the possibility and appropriateness of its emulation.

In The Political Economy of Privatization the authors assess the success of privatization. The work is an international study of the extensive privatization, and the pressure towards privatization, in different parts of the world. The book includes: * A study of the relationship between ownership and performance; * An assessment of the importance of market structure and regulation; * A discussion of privatization strategies within the public sector; * Individual country case-studies, looking at the experience of different countries engaged in the contrasting approaches to privatization. * A critical assessment of the much vaunted relationship between ownership and efficiency.

This book shows that there is a complex relationship between economic strategy, social control and political conflict in Singapore.

In this book Gavin Peebles and Peter Wilson offer an historical overview of the rapid growth and development of the Singapore economy, detailing the institutions and policies which have made this growth possible. They examine the current state of the economy and its future in terms of prospective growth and structural change.