Income inequality refers to the extent to which income is distributed unevenly among a population. Another way of looking at income inequality is to compare the ratio of incomes of the top 20 per cent and bottom 20 per cent of income earners. It is a knotty global issue that has affected countries, societies and down to individuals. Income inequality is the aftermath of world phenomenon like globalisation and technology advancement, and also domestic issues regarding family structure and social
Although Singapore is ranked amongst the world’s most unequal countries by the GINI Coefficient, one has to understand that the way Singapore measures her coefficient is unconventional compared to other countries. In this essay, inequality is discussed in terms of gender, racial and religious inequality in the workplace, education as well as their political freedom. An issue of concern is an important topic of discussion that could affect people if it is not dealt with properly. However, this essay
the opportunities and also the resources and the support so that if you succeed, you can do well for Singapore’ (Toh 2013). However, in my opinion, this ideology of equalised opportunities in education contributes to the worsening of social inequality. The late Mr. Lee Kwan Yew once said that the human being is an unequal creature and will never be equal (Lin, 2010). Thus, in a world of inequalities, would treating everyone equally result in equality? In fact, Emeritus Senior Minister
challenges for small national states. Singapore, the island off the shore of the Straits of Malaysia, has quickly developed from a small country with limited resources to becoming a global hub in the early 2000. To support such rapid progress, large numbers of foreign labour were brought in to keep the economy competitive. While its economy has developed and the standard of living has been raised, most citizens faced rising unemployment and increasing gaps in income inequality. The state responded with equal
still give an idea of the functioning of any economic system. KUZNETS RATIO Kuznets ratio measures the income that goes to the highest-earning households, which usually constitutes the top 20%, and the income that goes to the lowest-earning households, which is usually measured from the bottom 20% or the lowest 40% income earners. When we compare the first 20% to the next 20%, the perfect inequality is expressed as 1. But a comparison of 20% to the 40%, the value is being changes to 0.5. Kuznets had
Natural Resources Singapore is a set of islands of 710.2 sq km, located in South Asia between Malaysia and Indonesia. As in most islands, the climate of Singapore is tropical, with daily high temperatures moderated by the sea breezes and, thanks to the sea proximity, humidity and rainfalls throughout the year. The country’s territory consists in one main island and 60 smaller islets, which gives Singapore one of its main assets: 193 km of coastline. This coastline allows Singapore to be one of the
1. The main concern expressed in the article would be the danger of education perpetuating class stratification, as opposed to the promise of education “leveling the playing field”. It touches on the low intergenerational social mobility in Singapore, especially with varying social class. The article acknowledges the fact that entry into prestigious, ‘branded’ primary schools reflects on parents’ social class rather than merit. The accordance of accessibility of the best schools to students of
Power distance – is a dimension that indicates how the society feels about the inequalities among them. "Since Thais are supportive of hierarchies and revere every types of power where all decisions will only be made by the higher-ranking management as the eldest one in the group is the most respected at all times" (davidcliveprice, 2014). From power distance point of view, Thailand is a society in where inequalities are accepted. Hence, doing business in Thailand, we must respect their culture
increase in migration to times when globalisation is strongest. Economic migrants however, are only part of migration and can be defined as ‘those who are motivated mainly by the prospect of higher incomes’ (Bartram, 2011, p.57). Yeoh & Chang (2001) further categorise migrant workers by taking Singapore as a case study. First, there is a business class of high skilled migrants. Secondly, there are unskilled and semiskilled migrants for low wage jobs. Finally, they identify specialists within a specific
WESTERN CAPITALISM VS. STATE CAPITALISM Capitalism is an economic system whereby means of production were owned and controlled by private actors in which they were allowed to own and control the use of property base on their own interests, and where the supply and demand in markets were coordinated by invisible hand of the pricing mechanism in a way that may suit the best interests of society (Scott 2006). Reisman (1998) describes Capitalism as “a social system based on private ownership of