As a small city-state, Singapore isn't blessed with the abundance of natural resources that larger Asian nations are. However, the country has experienced economic growth over the last fifty years that has allowed it to maintain a high degree of employment. This strength is based on the diversity of Singapore's economy, which balances export, production of electronics and natural goods, tourism, and other income sources.
Over a quarter of Singapore's gross domestic product is based on manufacturing, and that sector is itself well-diversified, including electronics and chemical refining. Duty-free imports and exports, coupled with a deep, large port, make Singapore an attractive hub for import/export throughout Asia. The legalization of gambling, and the construction of several world-class casino resorts, has led to a booming tourism industry, with over ten million tourists arriving in 2007.
This economic diversity has allowed Singapore to weather repeated economic storms, since a contraction or outright collapse in any one industry cannot wipe out the country's entire economic base. Even during the current economic downturn, unemployment in Singapore has remained low. In December 2009, only a year after the worst economic collapse worldwide in decades, unemployment in Singapore was 2.99 percent.
The success of this diverse economy directly reflects upon the poor in the country. Because Singapore devotes a a large portion of its monies into public programs, the lower class of citizens have more of a chance to arrange jobs, find affordable housing (mentioned later), and improve their own lives. Other countries in the region that find themselves relying on a rather narrow diversity of economy can feel the results in the large number of poor citizens in their country. For a government to help reduce poverty, it is up to the policy makers to help stimulate multiple industries in their own country and attract varying investments from outside to stimulate their own economies.
Sources
- "Gross Domestic Product by Industry" . Singapore Department of Statistics. 2007.
- “Year Book of Statistics”, Singapore. Singapore Tourism Board.
- “Cities of the World”, ed. By Stanley D. Brunn, 2009.
- Singapore's “New Stat News”, http://www.singstat.gov.sg/
