|
Casting the net for new growth engines  |
 |
| 28 December 2011 |
|
| Tan Kong Yam, a professor of economics at NTU and director of the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, together with Tan Khee Giap, ACI co-director and Ruby Toh from ACI, wrote in their article that American participation in any Asian regional economic grouping is critical as it is still the most important engine of growth for all the Asian economies except Taiwan and Hong Kong. This was in response to recent suggestions that rising economic giants such as China and India will eclipse Asia's traditional growth engines, which rest on analyses about relative trade shares and the role of foreign direct investments. This article, written based on a more technical working paper, concluded that despite substantial efforts to increase Asean economic interdependence and solidarity, the empirical results showed that these did not result in much real growth or trade with one another. Intra-Asean growth engines are limited and have actually declined in importance over the past decade. The Asean-5 countries have instead turned to external engines of growth such as the US, Europe, China and Japan to help drive their economies. |
Read more in:
The Straits Times, page A19 |
|
Back to Top
|
|
| |
| Digging roots for thesis: Female university student in search of ‘blue head scarf’ |
 |
| 27 December 2011 |
|
| Xu Yi Fang is a 23 year-old fourth-year undergraduate from NTU’s Chinese Studies division, whose grandmother worked in Singapore as a ‘blue head scarf’ worker before. The scarves represent workers from different regions in China, although they all belong to the construction industry. Blue represent those from places like Hakka, Fujian, Dongguan, and the red scarf represent those from Sanshui. Yi Fang is researching into the roots of these women for her thesis although data can be difficult to collect. |
Read more in:
Shinmin Daily News, page 2 |
|
Back to Top
|
|
| Singapore sits moodily atop the wealth pole |
 |
| 24-25 December 2011 |
|
| More than half the adults in Singapore are among the world's wealthiest 8.8 per cent. Academics pointed out that among the developing countries, Singapore is at the very top of the inequality stakes. Asst Prof Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir, from NTU's Sociology Division said a concrete example of the discontent can be seen in the recent general election in which the PAP garnered its lowest percentage of votes since Independence. The main issues are a combination of the rising cost of living in Singapore and the lower standard of living linked to the large increase of migration into the country over the last few years. To better understand the extent of these anxieties, more rigorous research is needed, he stressed. NTU economist Asst Prof Chia Wai Mun said that in Singapore, there is a significant jump in the income and educational status of later generations relative to the earlier ones. However, intergenerational mobility is low. Those whose parents were at the bottom tend to remain at the bottom and those whose parents were at the top tend to stay at the top. |
Read more in:
The Business Times, pages 1, 6-7 |
|
Back to Top
|
|
| NTU to offer history degree from next year |
 |
| 19 December 2011 |
|
| NTU is beefing up its menu of humanities courses with new offerings in history and philosophy. It will roll out a four-year course leading to an honours history degree next year. It will also offer philosophy as a minor next year and as a major in a few years. History is now offered as a minor at NTU, which will enrol 40 students in the degree programme in the next academic year from August. The intake will grow to about 60 a year in five years. Professor Alan Chan, dean of the university's College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, said an interdisciplinary approach and global perspective will set its programmes apart from those at other schools. He noted that history has traditionally been studied in the context of chronological periods or by countries but there is great value in doing so with a global perspective. Like MIT, NTU will also leverage on its strengths in engineering and science and offer history students a chance to attend lectures by engineering and science dons. NTU's history and philosophy students will also get a chance to go on student exchange programmes overseas. Currently, 40 per cent of students from the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences do so and Prof Chan wants to grow the number to 70 per cent in the next three to five years via more partnerships with overseas universities. |
Read more in:
The Straits Times, page B5 |
|
Back to Top
|
|
| Young Chinese next door; more savvy and choosier |
 |
| 17 December 2011 |
|
| In ST's Special Report on the rising number of young Chinese nationals living in Singapore, Professor Liu Hong, chair of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at NTU observed that the arrivals today are more affluent and have a greater degree of social mobility. As China becomes more prosperous, there are more middle-class and well-to-do Chinese who can send their children abroad for higher education. Many of these young Chinese still believe it is easier to integrate into Singapore's society because of its dominant Chinese culture, he added. Prof Liu believed Singapore will see more Chinese immigrants coming in years to come but at a slower pace. He said Singapore's low birth rate and continuous advancement in the knowledge economy are compelling reasons why more migrants, especially those with good education will need to be brought in. The bottom line is that China is still the most populous nation in the world and it has a longstanding tradition in emigration. |
Read more in:
The Straits Times, Saturday Special Report, page D2 |
|
Back to Top
|
|
