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  • March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
  • Case
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Singapore

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Edward Prewitt
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:26
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Abstract

Since winning independence in 1965, Singapore achieved some of the world's highest rates of economic growth. A large part of GDP and employment came from direct investment by multinational companies in low-cost assembly work, but in the 1990s Singapore's rising wage rates increasingly priced it out of these industries. Could Singapore change itself from an assembler and fabricator of Western-designed parts to a designer and marketer of desirable products? Lee Kuan Yew, "the father of Singapore," repeatedly had shown an ability to guide the nation through such transitions. Not only did his successor have no such track record, but the next transition might be the hardest yet.

Keywords

Transition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Development Economics; Economic Growth; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Employment; Wages; Singapore

Citation

Reinhardt, Forest L., and Edward Prewitt. "Singapore." Harvard Business School Case 793-096, March 1993. (Revised April 1995.)
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About The Author

Forest L. Reinhardt

Business, Government and the International Economy
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More from the Authors
  • Master Kong: Growing the Instant Noodles Market in China By: Forest Reinhardt and Shu Lin
  • Korea: The Miracle on the Han River By: Sophus A. Reinert and Forest Reinhardt
  • Applegate Farms By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Jose B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred
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