Link to PDF: https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/docs/default-source/case-studies/case-studies-chinese-version/who_owns_the_rails_chinese_final.pdf

In 2025, Singapore gave every household S$800 in Community Development Council Vouchers, boosting both purchasing power and heartland businesses in one move. Community Development Council Vouchers, along with GST Vouchers, U-Save rebates, Climate Vouchers, LifeSG Credits and more, were part of Singapore’s distinctive system of broad-based cash and voucher transfers. This case study examines these transfers as instruments for managing cost-of-living pressures, reinforcing social solidarity and shaping citizen behaviour. It situates the system within Singapore’s political economy and philosophy of selective universalism rather than Universal Basic Income, and explores questions of sustainability, administrative feasibility and replication in other countries.

Link to PDF: https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/316784

Singapore’s MRT system has undergone repeated institutional reforms to balance reliability, affordability and financial sustainability. This case traces Singapore’s shift from a government-built rail system to the privatisation and public listing of SMRT, and subsequently to the re-nationalisation of rail assets under the New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF). While privatisation initially improved financial performance, it also created misaligned incentives that contributed to underinvestment in maintenance and major service disruptions. The NRFF sought to address these failures by returning asset ownership and lifecycle risk to the state, allowing operators to focus on operations. A comparison with Hong Kong’s “Rail plus Property” model highlights alternative approaches to aligning incentives and accountability, even as Singapore continues to face trade-offs between reliability, cost and public subsidy.

Link to PDF: https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/316212

The Singapore government has invested in adult education and training to build a skilled workforce since Singapore’s independence. It built up the Continuing Education and Training (CET) system with the launch of new institutions, frameworks and programmes. The launch of SkillsFuture in 2015 marked a new phase of investment in lifelong learning. SkillsFuture plays a central role in enabling a competitive economy and good jobs. This case study outlines milestones in the development of the CET ecosystem, examines the motivation for SkillsFuture, and reviews key SkillsFuture initiatives. This facilitates an assessment of the SkillsFuture movement, and what more must be done to address the skills and workforce challenges that lie ahead.

Link to PDF: https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/315559

Policy analyst David Chong was tasked by his consultancy firm to examine Vietnam and Singapore’s experience in using Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to develop large-scale public sports facilities. He chose Phan Dinh Phung Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and the Singapore Sports Hub as the subjects of his analysis. Both projects were conceived as signature PPPs that demonstrated the national ambition for sports development and prestige. What were the critical success factors for such large-scale sports infrastructural PPPs? What were the key lessons learnt? How should one go about identifying and mitigating the potential challenges?

Link to PDF: https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/315328

This case study examines the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) – long regarded as a model of international cooperation – and its gradual transformation into a geopolitical instrument amid changing regional, environmental, and security dynamics in South Asia. Signed in 1960 under the auspices of the World Bank, the IWT divided the six rivers of the Indus Basin between India and Pakistan and established mechanisms for data sharing, technical collaboration and dispute resolution. For over six decades, it endured wars, political crises and regime changes, earning the reputation of a rare “success story” in water diplomacy. However, as climate change, population growth and recurring cross-border terrorism altered regional realities, the treaty’s framework began to strain. India’s growing developmental needs and Pakistan’s dependence on the Indus for agriculture have collided with shifting political agendas. India’s notices for modification of the treaty in 2023 and 2024, followed by the suspension of the IWT in April 2025 after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, marked a watershed moment in South Asian hydro-politics. The case study discusses whether transboundary water treaties, originally designed for cooperation, can remain effective in an era when water has become securitised, politicised, and climate stressed.

Link to PDF: https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/314893