This book provides a comprehensive overview of the economic development of Singapore, easily the leading commercial and financial centre in Southeast Asia throughout the twentieth century. This development has been based on a strategic location at the crossroads of Asia, a free trade economy, and a dynamic entrepreneurial tradition. Initial twentieth-century economic success was linked to a group of legendary Chinese entrepreneurs, but by mid-century independent Singapore looked to multinational enterprise to deliver economic growth. Nonetheless exports of manufactures accounted for only part of Singaporean expansion, and by the 1980s Singapore was a major international financial centre and leading world exporter of commercial services. Throughout this study Dr Huff assesses the interaction of government policy and market forces, and places the transformation of the Singaporean economy in the context of both development theory and experience elsewhere in East Asia.

Research on Singapore's economic history has been complicated by the absence of economic data on pre-independence Singapore. This book aims to fill the gap by presenting a time-series of historical GDP estimates for the periods 1900-39 and 1950-60. The new data presented in the book sheds light on two key aspects of Singapore's economic history, namely the relationship between economic instability and growth, as well as the government's fiscal policy towards economic growth. As the first comprehensive empirical economic history of twentieth-century Singapore, this book is a valuable reference source for academics and graduate students interested in development and empirical economics.

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. The authors discuss the conflicting views on the role of government and the public sector in the economy, and analyse the quality and sustainability of growth. They explore the structural changes which have occurred due to high rates of savings and investment, a large balance of payments surplus and monetary, financial and fiscal conditions. Important in this analysis is the extent to which Singaporeans themselves have benefited in terms of welfare. The authors also identify the key roles played by trade policy, and financial and exchange rate institutions in creating and sustaining growth. In the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, they assess the current health of the economy and the implementation of reforms to achieve the government's vision of a 'New Singapore'. Based on the authors' own combined experiences of living in Singapore for over 20 years, this broadbased and analytical book sheds light on Singapore's status in the world economy. The integration of economic, social and political perspectives will ensure the book's broad appeal amongst scholars, students and researchers interested in growth and economic development in Singapore and South-east Asia.

Singapore's rapid ascent from Third World to First since its independence in 1965 has won it acclaim as an 'economic miracle'. Economic success has been accompanied by impressive achievements in social development, as reflected in international rankings of human capital and human development.The city state's achievements are founded on a socio-economic system characterised by low tax rates, flexible labour markets, and individual 'self-reliance', with state support centred on social investment in education and public housing.Entering the 21st century, however, slowing economic growth, an ageing population, global competition, and widening income dispersion have put the Singapore System under strain. This has prompted a significant refresh of social and economic policies over the past 15-20 years.This book aims to bring the reader up to date on Singapore's socio-economic development in the first two decades of the 21st century. It looks back to the shifts in policy thinking that have accompanied structural changes to Singapore's society and economy, taking stock of the policy innovations aimed at sustaining income growth, economic security, and social mobility. It looks around to compare Singapore's approach to those of other countries facing similar challenges, situating Singapore's experience in the wider international discourse on public policy. Finally, it looks ahead to how the Singapore System may evolve in the years to come.

The course of economic change in twentieth century Cambodia was marked by a series of deliberate ""conscious human efforts"" that were typically extreme and ideologically driven. While colonization, protracted war and violent revolution are commonly blamed for Cambodia's failure to modernize its economy in the twentieth century, Margaret Slocomb's Economic History of Cambodia in the Twentieth Century questions whether these circumstances changed the underlying structures and relations of production. She also asks whether economic factors in some way instigated war and revolution. In exploring these issues, the book tracks the erratic path taken by Cambodia's political elite and earlier colonial rulers to develop a national economy. The book closes around 2005, by which time Cambodia had be reintegrated into both the regional and into the global economy as a fully-fledged member of the World Trade Organization. To document Cambodia's path towards a modern economy, the author draws on resources from the State Archives of Cambodia not previously referenced in scholarly texts. The book provides information that is academically important but is also relevant to investors, aid workers and development specialists seeking to understand the shift from a traditional to a modern market economy.

Charting the Economy assesses the course of Malayas commodity-dependent economy during the first 40 years of the 20th century under British colonial control, contrasting it with economic growth and development in contemporary Malaysia. Drawing on archival documents to derive estimates of Malayas GDP and analysing trends, it breaks new ground in understanding the dynamics of economic performance. In the first half of the 20th century, the Malay Peninsula, like much of Southeast Asia, was under colonial rule. Colonialism facilitated the control of lands, institutions and peoples, as well as the exploitation of natural resources. Malayas economy was largely agrarian, supported by two primary commodity pillarstin and rubberproduced to meet the needs of the industries and people in Europe and North America. Sultan Nazrin Shah eloquently articulates how the economy rode a commodity roller-coaster. Being small and open, it was exceedingly vulnerable to external cyclical shocksWorld War I (19141918), the Roaring Twenties (19201929), and the Great Depression (19291932)which were the main causes of economic booms and busts. This book makes a compelling case that the colonial laissez-faire economic system worked well for the agency houses that repatriated huge profits but paid small dividends to the masses. Development was highly uneven, with growth and prosperity concentrated in and benefiting the Peninsulas west coast states, where most of the tin mines and rubber plantations were located. After independence, national control over economic management was accompanied by a long-term vision for a socially just nation. Real GDP growth in post-independence Malaysia brought rapid advances in standards of living.