Using Markets to Govern Better in Singapore

Abstract

The Singapore government creatively uses all the means available to be highly competitive internationally, to insure economic growth, and to maintain a high quality of life for its citizens. It successfully incorporated market systems in the process of governing before it became a popular means of solving public problems. This paper examines the Singapore experience in employing markets to promote its goals. It examines nine cases in which the government has used market mechanisms to improve governance. These cases provide an opportunity for others to consider and to learn from Singapore’s experience.