The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) held its annual flagship Singapore Perspectives (SP) conference on 22 January 2018. The theme of SP2018 was "Together" and it considered Singapore's demographic challenges and opportunities as a global city-state without natural resources. Kicking off SP2018, IPS Director Janadas Devan framed the demographic scenarios to be discussed in the conference in the context of Singapore being a city-state. Noting the bifurcation of Singapore's identity between the global and the local, he cautioned against the possibility of emerging divisions in Singapore, along age, class, or racial lines and emphasied the role of politics and policy in keeping us together.
Population has always played an integral part in Singapore's development story, given its open economy and lack of natural resources. The high birth rates of its early years allowed Singapore to enjoy its first demographic dividend from 1965 to 2000, which contributed to about a third of Singapore's GDP per capita growth. This dividend was reversed as our population started to age, with growth in the old-age population exceeding growth in the labour force, portending an estimated drag of 1.5% points to annual GDP per capita growth from now to 2060. Singapore's population challenges and policy responses have been well publicised in recent years. This IPS study seeks to elucidate the opportunities for further demographic dividends and policy adjustments and innovations, to ensure that Singapore remains an open and vibrant citystate with a productive population, and a stable, cohesive and inclusive society.
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Web Site: http://lkyspp2.nus.edu.sg/ips/event/singapore-perspectives-2018-together
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