Dr Tan Ern Ser is Adj. Principal Research Fellow and Academic Adviser, Social Lab, at the Institute of Policy Studies. He chairs the Department Ethics Review Committee (DERC) and is Editorial Board member of the IPS Exchange Series.
He was previously Head, IPS Social Lab; Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Academic Convener, Singapore Studies, and Chair, Social Science and Policy Cluster, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences; and Deputy Chair, General Education Committee, Chief, Singapore Studies Pillar, and Vice-Dean of Students at the National University of Singapore.
Ern Ser received his PhD in Sociology from Cornell University, USA. He is author of “Does Class Matter?” (2004, World Scientific), “Class and Social Orientations” (2015, IPS), “Public Housing and Social Mixing” (2020, UN-Habitat); and co-author of “More than just a roof over one’s head: lifestyle diversity and dynamics in Singapore public housing” (2019, Routledge), “Social Capital in Singapore” (2021, Routledge), and “Singapore: An Outlier” (2023, National Taiwan University Press).
Ern Ser is principal investigator of the Singapore Panel Study on Social Dynamics (SPSSD), and co-investigator of the Asian Barometer-Singapore survey series as well as the Singapore Post-General Election survey series at the Institute of Policy Studies.
Ern Ser has served as research consultant to several government ministries, Research Adviser, Ministry of Social and Family Development, and a member of the Families for Life Council. He chairs the Research Advisory Panel, HDB; a is a member (formerly, Chairman) of the Programme Advisory Committee for Sociology and the Social Science Core, SUSS. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace (JP) in 2013.
Research Interests
Political values and participation, governance and democracy; class and ethnicity; elderly; and social policy.
Publications
- Teo, K. K., Tan, E. S., and Wang, Z. (2024). Regime Support in Singapore: From Enigma to ‘New Normal’. Asian Journal of Political Science, 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/02185377.2024.2416132
- Teo, K. K., Tan E. S., and Koh, G. (2023). Singapore: An Outlier? In, Chu, Y. H., Chung, Y. T., Huang, M. H., and Huang, K. P. (eds.), How Asians View Democratic Legitimacy. Taipei: Taiwan National University Press (pp. 348-360).
- Mathew, M., Hou, M., Tan, E. S. & Chua, V. (2021). Making Identity Count in Singapore: Understanding Singaporeans' National Pride and Identity. IPS Working Paper No. 41.
- Chua, V., Koh, G., Tan, E. S., & Shih, D. (2020). Social Capital in Singapore: The Power of Network Diversity. Routledge.
- Tan, E. S. (2016). Public housing and community development: Planning for urban diversity in a city-state. In C. K. Heng (Ed.), 50 years of urban planning in Singapore (pp.257-272). Singapore: World Scientific.
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- Tan, E. S. (2015). Social mobility. In D. Chan (Ed.), 50 years of social issues in Singapore (pp.119-132). Singapore: World Scientific.
- Tan, E. S. (2015). Class and social orientations: Key findings from the Social Stratification Survey 2011. IPS Exchange Series No.4.
- Thang, L. L. & Tan, E. S. (2014). Bonding of the generations: Promoting family values and intergenerational solidarity in Singapore. In J. Griffiths (Ed.), Family futures (pp.61-63). London: Tudor Rose.
- Chua, V. & Tan, E. S. (2012). National identity. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), Wiley-Blackwell encyclopedia of globalization (pp.1-2). New York: Blackwell Publishing.
Op-eds/Commentaries
- Tan, E.S. & Lim, H. (2024, Apr 3). Qualifications v skills: Is one just paper, the other the real deal?. The Straits Times.
- Tan, E.S. (2023, Sep 28). The danger of politics in a post-truth world. The Straits Times.
- Tan, E.S. & Sim, K. L. (2023, May 17). Why does everyone think they are middle class?. The Straits Times.
- Teo, K.K. & Tan, E.S. (2020, July 6). The NCMP scheme: keep it or dump it?. IPS Commons.
- Tan, E. S. (2018, August 8). How can Singapore move up the values ladder?. TODAY.
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- Tan, E. S., Chua, V., & Koh, G. (2018, January 11). While social class division exists, it does not mean Singapore is divided. TODAY.
- Tan, E. S. (2016, August 12). Reality check needed for S’poreans with unrealistic expectations. TODAY.
- Tan, E. S. (2015, September 7). Age, class and the general election. The Straits Times.
- Tan, E. S. (2013, February 27). The inclusive society and its limits. TODAY.
- Tan, E. S. (2012, August 12). Make nation-building a collective project. TODAY.