The Social Control of Personal Finance: The Emergence and Evolution of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) System

Abstract

This dissertation examines the rationalities behind the emergence and evolution of the CPF in Singapore, by viewing it as a mechanism for the social control of individualsb finance for collective social and economic goals. The aims and contributions of this dissertation are 1) to uncover the social-historical processes and rationalities that led to the formation and subsequent evolution of the CPF from initially being a retirement plan, to gradually expand to include housing, healthcare, education, and investments; 2) to examine the coercive and ideological aspects of social control as manifested by the various developments within the CPF system that enabled it to be fiscally sustainable and economically productive. The key argument is that it is not necessarily social welfare goals that have driven the developments in the CPF, but more often economic and market development problems that have driven its evolution as a pool of capital collectively mobilized by the State to meet these challenges.