Transmigrant identities and human capital flows in Singapore

Abstract

Abstract Singapore provides a useful model of how the flow of transnationals and their economic, political and social impacts are managed. Singapore is one of the world's most open economies but its low total fertility rate (TFR) has threatened its economic growth and survival. As a result, the government has been recruiting foreign human capital in order to expand its working population and economic growth. The imperative was business to leverage on global growth in 2005 but the city-state was not adequately prepared for the huge influx of foreigners or non-resident workers. The number of non-resident workers increased by 100 per cent to more than 1.3 million in about five to six years from 2005. Some of the unintended 'spillover' effects have been rising inflation, increasing competition for jobs, escalating property prices and overcrowding on public transport. Societal tensions have emerged around the concept of 'us' and the 'other' in Singapore. The paper discusses how the state and companies have implemented programmes to reduce the 'gaps' between local and foreign human capital in Singapore. Some of these have included orientation programmes, activities with voluntary welfare organisations and other interactions under the overall integration policy the state has implemented. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013.