Home
About CPE
Courses
Events
Research and Publications
Useful Links
     
 

CPE (Centre for Public Economics) > Research and Publications

 

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS

CPE’s research focuses on 4 key areas:

Government in markets and social spending:
The debate in public economics is shifting away from the old one of governments versus markets to one of how governments can make use of markets to achieve developmental and other policy goals. Singapore’s economic development experience offers a valuable reference of how government can work with and through markets to achieve results superior to purist market approaches. This research theme will also explore how social spending (a key part of government’s intervention in markets) should evolve in an era of globalisation, rapid technological change, high levels of immigration and increasing income inequality.

Institutions and good governance:
The role of sound policies is not sufficient to explain economic growth. Singapore’s economic success is due as much to the establishment and development of strong, credible institutions that have constantly adapted to the country’s changing needs and challenges. This research theme will explore Singapore’s economic development from an institutional (not just a policy) perspective, focusing in particular on how, at different stages of our development, we built up different institutions that were needed at the time.

Behavioural economics:
The conventional view in economics is that governments should only focus on making markets work and ensuring individuals have the information to make choices. Behavioural economics (BE) argues that this approach is often insufficient because individuals suffer from various cognitive biases, inertia, lack of discipline etc., and do not behave according to the conventional economic assumption of rationality. BE looks at how to help citizens make better choices without circumscribing their options. CPE will undertake research on those aspects of Singapore policies which already take on board the insights of BE and explore other areas where these can be applied.

Climate change:
This is an area of increasing importance that requires policymakers to consider how climate change may alter Singapore’s economic structure and the bases of our competitive advantage. In particular, CPE will explore what a shift to a low-carbon, energy-efficient economy would require of policy, and how Singapore can make this transition without compromising long-term growth and competitiveness. It will also strive to inform policymakers of the innovative regulatory and policy approaches undertaken by other governments to address the related challenges of energy security, climate change and resource scarcity.


Page 1 I 2