In the Spotlight
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On 22 and 29 January 2024, the Institute of Policy Studies held its flagship annual conference, Singapore Perspectives 2024 (SP2024), on the theme “Youth”.
The first day of the conference was held online. Some themes discussed included how a rapidly changing world marked by economic shifts, technological disruptions, and climate change shaped today’s youths; and the state of mental health among youth post-COVID-19 pandemic.
The final day of the conference gathered over 1200 participants, our highest turnout so far. It featured three panels that dove into how the theme of youth intertwined with work, family, and politics, each featuring a pre-panel video with interview. The event ended with a dialogue session with Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Communications and Information, and Ministry of Health, and Chairman of OnePeople.sg, who discussed key issues such as polarisation and inclusivity.
Find out more about SP2024 here, and watch the introductory videos on the conference themes here.
Articles
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Commentary — Budget 2024: Three principles to strengthen support for Forward Singapore initiative
(The Straits Times)
By Gillian Koh
• 7-min read
In this op-ed for The Straits Times, Dr Gillian Koh discusses vital principles for the upcoming Singapore Budget 2024.
Dr Koh suggests that there are three operating principles needed to proactively tackle anticipated concerns relating to the Forward Singapore Initiatives.
The principles include ensuring the involvement and bearing of costs by key stakeholders and beneficiaries, assuring that goals must be transformative and transcend their monetary value to deliver the social multiplier effect and lastly, initiatives should be evaluated rigorously and transparently.
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Commentary — Are memories of poverty keeping us stuck in a material world?
(The Straits Times)
By Tan Poh Lin
• 5-min read
A study by the National University of Singapore found that a balanced world view, giving equal importance to family, tradition, broader societal well-being, social status, and wealth, is associated with greater life satisfaction.
In this op-ed for The Straits Times, Dr Tan Poh Lin suggests that widespread poverty and scarcity in Singapore's early years, coupled with recent explosive economic growth, has made us more reliant on material possessions for feelings of security and happiness. Dr Tan highlights that Singaporeans at the individual level can shift towards a less materialistic, more balanced world view, allowing for intergenerational mobility of happiness.
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Commentary — Fine-tuning FDI screening can propel Singapore and ASEAN forward
(East Asia Forum)
By Faizal Bin Yahya
• 5-min read
Post-pandemic ASEAN has emerged as a global foreign domestic investment (FDI) hotspot, fuelled by resilient supply chains and US-China competition. In this piece for East Asia Forum, Dr Faizal Bin Yahya discusses how this boom brings potential conflict, and increased scrutiny of foreign investments is needed to manage national security concerns.
With the new Significant Investments Review Bill (SIRB), it offers a model for screening foreign investment in critical sectors. Dr Faizal opines that effectively calibrating policies between investment and security will be crucial for Singapore and ASEAN’s economic future.
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Commentary — Helping persons with disabilities find work in Singapore: A personal testimony
(The Straits Times)
By Tommy Koh
• 5-min read
In this article for The Straits Times, IPS Special Adviser Professor Tommy Koh recounts his personal experience helping talented persons with disabilities find good and fulfilling jobs in Singapore since the 1990s.
Despite the Singapore Government’s conscientious efforts to champion the enablement of persons with disabilities, as well as protecting their rights, the average employment rate of resident persons with disabilities is far from what it can be. Professor Koh highlights that Singapore is taking steps in the right direction, but employers who employ such individuals are still a small minority.
Recent Releases on the IPS Website
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IPS On Diversity Podcast S4E5: SP2024 — Youth and Caregiving
In conjunction with SP2024, themed around the topic of youths, host Liang Kaixin is joined by Dr Tan Poh Lin, IPS Senior Research Fellow, and Jason Leow, a youth caregiver who is also the sole breadwinner in his three-generation family. They explore how younger generations balance the responsibilities of caring for their ageing parents while raising their own children. This setup reflects a shift in Singapore’s social structure, where traditional extended family support is evolving in the face of modern living constraints and societal changes.
The discussion also touches on the emotional and financial aspects of caregiving, the impact of caregiving on women’s work and life satisfaction, and the role of government and community in supporting sandwiched caregivers.
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IPS On Diversity Podcast S4E6: SP2024 — Youth and Climate Anxiety
Also, in conjunction with SP2024, this episode delves into the psychological and emotional impact of climate change on young people, featuring Melissa Low, a research fellow at the NUS Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, and Darren Quek, Principal of Forest School Singapore, and a climate activist.
They share personal experiences with climate anxiety, discussing its impact on the emotional state on society and how media shapes perceptions of climate change. Additionally, they explore the potential impact of climate anxiety on future demographic trends.
The discussion concludes with suggestions for addressing climate anxiety, emphasising on mental health support and community engagement.
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IPS On Diversity Podcast S4E7: Girl Math and the gender gap in STEM field
“Girl math”, a TikTok trend where young women humorously rationalise their spending in ways that defy mathematics has sparked conversations surrounding gender stereotypes. In this episode, host Liang Kaixin is joined by Dr Sierin Lim, Associate Professor of Bioengineering from Nanyang Technological University, and Ms Ainul Md Razib, a full-stack software engineer and tech career influencer. Together, they analyse the complexities surrounding the gender gap in STEM and perceived math skills.
Despite equal mathematical abilities among genders in schools, a significant drop-off occurs as women progress in their academic and professional journeys. The episode explores the societal and psychological barriers contributing to this trend, including confidence issues and deeply ingrained stereotypes.
Recent Publications
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Policy Brief No. 1/2024 — Responses to Substance-Based Income Exclusion (SBIE)
This policy brief outlines the potential implications of the substance-based income exclusion (SBIE) element in Pillar Two Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) rules.
The SBIE is a carve-out provision that allows corporations to lower their top-up tax liabilities by excluding some returns from tangible assets and payroll from the GloBE tax base. Unintended negative consequences could arise if reactionary policies are rolled out without understanding the design flaws of the rule.
Two approaches are suggested that might mitigate these effects — aligning regional perspectives to influence the design of global taxation policies; and leveraging on tools like Qualified Refundable Tax Credits (QRTCs).
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IPS Exchange Series No. 27 — Asia Voices: Perspectives on Tax Policy Seminar 2023 Proceedings
The Asia Voices Working Group convened by IPS organised its second seminar in October 2023. The seminar continued its broad focus on encouraging perspectives and actions from Asia regarding the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s reform to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) risks.
This seminar placed the discussions in the context of the impact, possibilities, and challenges of a regional response towards BEPS Pillar Two. Three sessions of the seminar focused on the perspectives of advisers, policymakers, and corporates respectively. This report also includes additional commentary from the Working Group.
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IPS Working Paper No. 53 — Public Housing in Singapore: Four Principles for Policy Deliberation
This paper analyses the public housing policies of Singapore. Presented as four principles that can align or contradict each other, which happens when policy choices are made to achieve a key national objective, or a balance of several objectives, or to privilege a key segment of the population as part of those objectives.
The four principles that are proposed are: Shelter, Citizenship, Store of Value, and Tradeable Assets. The paper provides a language by which to discuss the strategic role it plays in socio-economic development in Singapore and the trade-offs that are involved in prioritising one principle over the others in reforming public housing policy in the future.
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