the sustainable development of the social welfare policies and services in the long term. Use the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. In 2000, the contribution rates to Medisave were 6 per cent and 8 per cent for people under 35 and people over 60, respectively (CPF Board 2000). Social Welfare Department. This increased to 40 per cent in the 2011 General Election. 1999 ranks … Social and public assistance (e.g. When the PAP governed Singapore from 1959 onwards, the SIT was replaced in 1961 by a new statutory board – the Housing Development Board (HDB). Further, as discussed in this article, the interconnections across different economic and social policies have been a significant part of the welfare policy design in Singapore. SkillsFuture, initiated in 2015, is another scheme for all Singaporeans to upgrade their skills, whether or not they have a job. 3. Social Service Agencies (SSAs) can apply for a grant from the Ministry to carry out Cyclical Maintenance for their facilities. Ramesh and Asher 2000; Chua 2005; Asher and Nandy 2008; Lian and Tong 2008; Ng 2015; Yahya 2015), this article contributes to the literature by interpreting the welfare regime in Singapore from the political and economic context. In that year, the British transferred Singapore to a new nation called Malaysia, and in its two years in Malaysia, Singapore was defended by the Malaysian armed forces, which, in turn, enjoyed British military assistance through the large British base which continued to be in Singapore. Another unique factor in the Singapore context is the issue of a new Singapore dollar in 1967 to replace the previous Malayan or Straits dollar which had been in circulation since 1906 (Lee 2015). and you may need to create a new Wiley Online Library account. In addition, the rationale of self‐reliance and family support, social policies and economic growth strategy, are interdependent. The share of manufacturing sector in total employment has been decreasing from over 25 per cent in 2001 to about 16 per cent in 2015 (figure 5). Currently, only workers whose income is below S$1,900 per month are eligible for WIS (table 1). In 2015, Singapore ranked first among 72 countries in the PISA test (OECD 2016). Currently, the contribution rates for employers and employees are 17 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, when employees' age is below 55. In 2014, 3.2 million Medisave accounts were set up, with a surplus amounting to S$21,800 for each account. Some recent government initiatives are reviewed. Moreover, it is a compulsory saving scheme to which both employers and employees contribute. The Singapore government has always been quite prudent and mindful of the potentially corrosive effects of welfare in designing it social policies. There were some social policies which preceded 1965 such as the CPF (formed in 1955), but they were fine‐tuned after the formation of Singapore as an independent nation in August 1965. Currently, the income ceilings vary from S$6,000 to S$18,000 with regard to the average monthly gross household income, depending on the nature of the flat and the location (HDB 2016). In recent years, the unemployment rate has been around 2 per cent in Singapore (Ministry of Manpower 2017). Active labour policies, such as workfare and training programmes, have been recently initiated to increase labour participation and promote worker skills. In addition, the government co‐funded 40 per cent of wage increases for Singaporean employees between 2013 and 2015 under the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) for workers earning up to the gross monthly wage of $ 4,000. Given the concern for political survival, the economic rationale plays a pivotal role in social policy‐making in Singapore. The social policies in Singapore, which have been designed to accommodate the political rationale and economic growth strategy in the context of economic, political and social conditions, are discussed in this article. Also, new policy directions such as active labour policies, pension cuts and increasing family benefits have been initiated in some European countries since the 1990s (Bonoli and Natali 2012; Hemerijck 2013). The notion of ‘self‐reliance’ describes the individual responsibility in Singapore context well. In a small city- state with no natural resources, the Singapore government has always feared that the In other words, self‐reliance and family support may not be enough to address welfare needs, especially for low‐income groups such as the working poor and the elderly who worked for lower wages. 1st and 10th percentile) has increased from 15.96 in 1997 to 23.68 in 2015 (Department of Statistics, various years a). This article examines social security and housing policies in Singapore and shows how both were an integral part of a wider commitment to promote economic development. However, the Singaporean welfare state is different from other cases in the East Asian welfare regime. Its basic principle remains unchanged –compulsory personal saving on the part of the employee, complemented by the employer's contribution. The achievement of Singapore's economy regarding the support of social policies is remarkable. This is a list of social service agencies (SSA) in Singapore.. The welfare institutions in the Singaporean welfare state, as an East Asian ‘productivist’ welfare regime, are designed to support economic growth. The statutory board was called the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), but its scope was covered only by what is now the central business district of Singapore. The end of the war saw the British implement the welfare state based on the Beveridge Report, which had repercussions in Singapore. In this context, social policies (e.g. As a result, the HDB was able to construct public housing over the entire island, which could house the majority of the population. Eligible residents can use up to 100 per cent of their Ordinary CPF savings account for the down‐payment for an HDB flat. For example, welfare reforms in the UK and the USA experienced considerably modest changes since the 1980s (Pierson 1994, 1996). The social expenditure is even lower in Singapore given its government size. Another policy direction is to provide ‘protective’ social policies that protect people's finances from future risks. Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature on the development of welfare states by considering the recent policy responses in Singapore to the change of economic and social conditions. Moreover, MediShield Life does not have an age limit, and is compulsory to all Singapore citizens and permanent residents. Furthermore, the demand for long‐term care has been addressed. are the policy target to be addressed after the 2011 General Election. It was initiated by the Labour Front government led by David Marshall, leader of the then Labour Front, in 1955 as an old age retirement scheme. The tax rate has been set low to attract foreign investments, especially in the manufacturing sector (Huff 1994). Also, the share of single‐person households of all resident households has increased from 8.2 per cent in 2000 to 11.2 per cent in 2014.44 Straits Times, 1 June 2015. However, the Singaporean welfare state achieves remarkable performances in education and health, with very different institutional arrangements and smaller government social expenditure, compared with other East Asian economies. 1984; Lim 2015; Low 2004). work‐mediated welfare benefits) are suggested to be even more relevant than universal programmes in Japan (Estévez‐Abe 2008). At present, the government spends approximately 20 per cent of its budget on education (figure 2). The government has increased the size of Medifund several times. Particularly, Singapore's government size is relatively small. Most households are the flat owners. East Asian welfare regimes are generally marked by segmented and underdeveloped welfare programmes (Midgley and Tang 2009). Also, both the public and private sectors play a critical role in the health system in Singapore. Singaporeans aged 40 and over will receive up to a 90 per cent course fee subsidy for courses funded by the workfare agency in the Singapore Workforce Development Agency under this scheme (SkillsFuture Singapore 2016). First, labour market structure and outcomes are changing. Government also promotes the ‘many helping hands’ approach, highlighting the self‐help activities from various community organizations (Teo 2015). For example, in the Lisbon strategy drafted by the EU, human capital, innovation and development have been highlighted as the focus of social and economic policies in Europe, which is different from the traditional focus on social protection (European Council 2000). Family support/individual responsibility is also highlighted in public housing, given that the down‐payment and mortgage can be supported by the household's CPF savings. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]. Social policies in Singapore, such as in workfare, are preventative rather than reactive (Tong and Lian 2008), which is consistent with the recent literature on social investment and the enabling state (Pereira 2008). This policy accommodated the demand of the labour force due to the expansion of manufacturing sectors at that time (Pereira 2008). 31.8 per cent in Korea and 42.5 per cent in Japan). Government education expenditure as a share of total government expenditure. Manufacturing/construction and service sectors’ share in employment. In 1980, among all employees aged 15 and over, 20 per cent of male employees and 13.9 per cent of female employees were professional, managerial and technical workers. Singapore was compelled to build itself militarily in defence, so that, within a decade, there was a Singapore army, air force and navy. At the same time, the physical labour input to the economy has been increased in recent years, supported by ‘an inflow of foreign workers' (cited by Pang and Lim 2015). The amount of subsidies varies with the income level of patients. about 6 per cent and 10 per cent in Japan and Korea, respectively, in recent years; World Bank 2016). First, economic growth is a pivotal target for social policy design and implementation in Singapore. Importantly, these welfare regimes are contextual and configured by historical, economic, political and social conditions. Singapore emphasises what people see in other East Asian countries: on the one hand, the subordination of public welfare to economic growth and development and, on the other, reliance on the … Furthermore, this study discusses the policy responses in Singapore to the recent developments of economic and social conditions as an example of the evolution of welfare states. The Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in a speech referred to a shift to the left in PAP policy.99 See http://www.mof.gov.sg/news‐reader/articleid/1076/parentId/59/year/2013?category=Speeches (accessed 18 May 2017). See http://www.pmo.gov.sg/newsroom/prime‐minister‐lee‐hsien‐loongs‐national‐day‐rally‐2013‐english (accessed 5 July 2017). Overview of Social Welfare in Singapore There are a wide range of social policy schemes, under the purview of different ministries From a recent report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), social protection expenditure (i.e. For primary care, the private sector plays a more significant role compared with hospital care. wheelchairs, hearing aids, etc). The government has provided subsidy for low‐ and middle‐income enrollees, as well as the ‘pioneer’ generation (i.e. Third, government regulations are released to protect low‐income workers financially, and the government also provides a subsidy for low‐income workers. Similar to other countries in the East Asian region, Singapore has spent a high proportion of the government budget on education. Before the 1980s, government expenditure on education focused on massive primary education, in which basic skills in English, mathematics and science were highlighted (Pereira 2008). Moreover, supports from family and community are encouraged. This article also argues that the Singaporean welfare state is now searching for a balance between the ‘productivist’ and ‘protective’ welfare regime. From a recent survey, it was found that over 80 per cent resided in public housing, and 90 per cent of public housing residents owned their houses in 2015 (Department of Statistics and Ministry of Trade & Industry 2016), compared to approximately 29.4 per cent in the 1970s (Chia 2015a). The median wages for full‐time resident cleaners and other related workers increased from S$1,000 per month in 2012 to S$1,200 per month in 2015.1010 Straits Times, 19 June 2016. 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