tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324210162012-01-18T10:00:58.779ZGo to the edge of the universe and push it out a little.Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.comBlogger641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-25736628345737622732008-02-28T14:09:00.008Z2008-03-02T14:37:18.343Z

The Pressures of Excessive Do-GoodnessEven though this year's budget contains many giveaways, there are the predictable complaints that it has not done enough - not enough for the poor, not enough for the middle class, not enough for businesses. The responses from some office holders are also quite predictable. Singapore Angle has two rather good discussions about the budget debate (here and here

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-83449961964667317912008-02-20T01:31:00.006Z2008-02-21T10:37:17.497Z

Is the Budget Inflationary?Even before the budget was announced last Friday, it was widely anticipated to deal with the thorny issue of inflation. Inflation in Singapore has reached multi-year highs. One of the contributing factors has been the rise in food prices. The price hikes of food and commodities could certainly have caused hardship for some Singaporean families, and also increased

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-47677243261890576032008-02-02T09:36:00.000Z2008-02-02T12:11:22.857Z

Talking a Policy to DeathAn Australian friend of mine once remarked - if the Singapore government wanted to do something, it would just announce the policy and get on with it. As Singaporeans would attest to, there is veracity in that statement. At its best, our government is often bold and decisive in implementing policies. The flipside of this boldness and decisiveness is that it will often be

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-74531909736574443202008-01-21T12:10:00.001Z2008-12-13T07:42:05.667Z

Deadweight Loss of High Taxi Fare?The issue of taxi pricing has been a subject of some debate recently. Before the recent changes to the fee structure, the perennial complaint was too few taxis (particularly during peak hours in the city). After the increase in the structured fare, there are many empty taxis around waiting for customers.Nevertheless, many taxi drivers have reported that though

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-15294318138789253112007-12-25T15:04:00.000Z2007-12-25T22:53:02.441Z

The Christmas FogThis is probably the last year I am in the UK. This Christmas, my wife Grace had planned to bring the family - including baby Elena - on a pilgrimage to Rome. She had booked the tickets and accommodation. More importantly, she had secured the tickets to the midnight Mass at St Peter's.The big fog on the 23rd Dec however put paid to these carefully laid out plans. We were stuck

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-80171627136477130522007-12-06T12:36:00.000Z2007-12-06T14:54:22.257Z

The Post-Bureaucratic AgeWhen I first returned to London in late September for the new school term, the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown was still riding the crest of a wave of popular support. It was the so-called honeymoon period for the new office holder. Since then, he has become the subject of much political ridicule.Brown's TroublesFirst, Brown prepared for a surprise election to cash in on

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-51955488377215607682007-11-26T14:25:00.000Z2007-11-26T15:02:21.556Z

The Price of FailureI watched England knock themselves out of the European Championship last week - when they needed only a draw, on home ground, gifted the first goal to the visitors, a team that had already qualified. One could not have imagined a worst manner to lose. The head coach, Steve McClaren, must undoubtedly take much of the blame. If I were to discuss his ineptitude, I could easily go

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-54743578447825151622007-11-14T23:15:00.000Z2007-11-15T07:37:33.192Z

The Measures of InflationInflation in Singapore has gone up in recent quarters, prompting understandable anxiety amongst consumers. In the answer to a parliamentary question, the minister stated that consumers could choose cheaper alternatives to minimise the impact of rising prices. I shall not wade into the big debate whether it is a good enough or adequate answer, people have perhaps already

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-56870778807631976322007-11-09T13:41:00.000Z2007-11-10T08:28:36.535Z

Inflationary or Disinflationary?Rising oil prices, falling US dollar, skyrocketing commodity prices all point to more inflation for the US economy, or do they? What about the effects of a slowing economy and falling house prices? Just a couple of years ago, the world was toasting to the Goldilocks US economy, growing without inflation, not too hot and not too cold. Now, it is a case of one foot

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-71671109122602284652007-11-08T17:57:00.000Z2007-11-08T18:44:41.173Z

Not a Short DownturnTwo months ago, I suggested that markets were overly exuberant after Fed's first rate cut, which if you recall sent US and local stock markets to record highs - as if the subprime problem never occurred. The market rallied, and for two months I was wondering if I was missing out on something. But the problems associated with the US housing market have not gone away. The US

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-65638121245993810532007-10-11T20:12:00.000Z2008-12-13T07:42:06.246Z

Save the Generals, Save BurmaThe moment the monks began openly defying the military regime in Myanmar, there was always going to be only one outcome - violent suppression. The fact that blood was spilled should not come as a surprise to anybody save the most idealistic and naive. The logic is perfectly simple - dictators who lose power often lose everything, and sometimes even end up in tribunals

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-75825962832673592552007-10-07T11:07:00.000Z2007-10-08T14:10:33.283Z

A Simple Welfare Analysis of Borrowers and SaversOne of the missing piece in the discussion on CPF returns is the peg to HDB housing loan. This is an important point of consideration since any increase in CPF rates will have considerable welfare consequences on these net borrowers - people who took out a HDB loan which is larger than the available balances they have in their CPF accounts. I too

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-91638308421787747892007-09-25T08:27:00.000Z2007-09-26T00:38:44.704Z

CPF Reforms: Why Government's Critics Mostly Miss the PointThe major piece of CPF reform was supposed to be about the Compulsory Annuity Scheme (my views here and here). Nevertheless, the relationship between Government investment vehicles (namely GIC and Temasek) and CPF has received much of the attention instead. I was absolutely tickled with Chua Mui Hoong's quip, "The more you know, the more

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com78tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-63581798417397091032007-09-19T00:34:00.000Z2007-09-19T01:44:49.614Z

Where Has the Exuberance Gone II?Clearly, I spoke too soon. The exuberance is not gone from the market, it is in fact being stoked by the Fed ("Cheering Greets Fed Announcement"). I find myself to be a rather curious situation. I personally want a significant interest rate cut because it will be good for my portfolio, but I am against it in principle. I am probably not the only one feeling really

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-42402900234701773852007-09-17T04:39:00.001Z2007-09-19T01:24:55.322Z

Where Has the Exuberance Gone?Even though it is only September, June seems like such a long time ago. Back then, markets were on record highs every where, Dow crossed 14000 and STI almost reached 3700. Three months later, not only has the exburance evaporated, confidence in the global financial system has taken a serious hit.Locally, a lot of hot air has also escaped from the property sector.

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-10534309279032732422007-08-30T01:30:00.000Z2007-08-31T00:29:52.383Z

Insurance MisunderstoodIn 2005, Liverpool reached the finals of the Champions League (European Cup) for the first time in 21 years. Liverpool was clearly underdog to the stylish AC Milan. Big underdog. A lot was riding on that one match - Liverpool was 5th in the league that year, which meant they would not qualify for the competition the next season if they didn't win. Their captain, Steven

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-17918830897315791312007-08-21T14:25:00.000Z2007-08-22T08:04:50.533Z

A Right Step Towards Risk PoolingA couple of months ago, I suggested here (not wholly originally) that the major problem of the CPF system was not that returns were low, but the lack of risk-pooling to guard against "longevity risk".First on the issue of returns. Based on the sketchy information that has been brought to the public in the two days since N-Day rally, CPF returns would indeed be

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-6291199990083559052007-08-17T07:41:00.000Z2007-08-17T14:36:39.710Z

Market Hazards Like Lucky, I have spent most of my last three weeks tracking the subprime crisis, the market and my portfolio. Blogging comes second to watching my housing and retirement funds. Perhaps I would write something about the economics of it some other day when things are calmer. When the market is in this mood, there is really not much point in talking about fundamentals. Even as I

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-64192672516616414002007-08-07T01:32:00.000Z2007-08-07T01:43:01.746Z

Learning to Tie the Policy HandsIn this post, I argue, using the current red-hot property sector as an example, how too much policy discretion over the economic cycle may actually compromise long-term objectives. Some "tying of hands" or credible commitment on the part of policy-makers can sometimes be better for the economy. The full article can be found on Singapore Angle.

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-87497434467477433102007-07-25T06:47:00.000Z2007-07-26T06:53:19.441Z

The Economics of Foreign Talent / WorkersThis post was first written by Aaron Ng, who posed a really difficult question: whether immigration of skilled workers (talent) lowered the wages of native skilled workers. The same question could also be asked for unskilled workers, whether the influx of unskilled workers depressed the wages of the low-skill, low-income groups.As we know, immigration is a

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-3264785302659070062007-07-13T07:57:00.000Z2007-07-14T02:33:40.883Z

The Lone Tree Hill Incident at Lim Chu KangThis post has nothing to do with economics. It is about 2LT Lee's letter that skipped the chain of command, weaved into a story about my one major regret. This incident happened more than a decade ago, but I have carried the burden of a blemished conscience ever since.It was a night in March 1996, my battalion was carrying out a routine exercise in Lim

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-65753125538001272592007-07-06T07:14:00.001Z2007-07-06T10:00:11.627Z

Property Prices Spiraling Out of Reach? And Pitfalls of Property Price IndexHere I am back in Singapore. The effect of the property boom is clearly evident from the numerous construction sites and cranes dotting around downtown areas. The news media reports property market news almost every day. The classified ads screams at you - "Buy now before prices go up!", "Sure En Bloc, it's a matter of

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-13006391355887247912007-07-05T03:37:00.001Z2007-07-05T03:40:00.429Z

The HDB Lottery?[This post was written on 21 June, but was accidentally deleted. It is reproduced here but some comments were lost].How much does a good unblocked view in a good location add to the value of a property? A lot apparently. As every one probably knows by now, a flat in Tiong Bahru has just been sold for $720K, way above valuation, and double of what the owner paid 7 years ago. It

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-56685413659698721142007-06-18T23:24:00.000Z2007-06-18T23:44:18.257Z

Some Further Discussion on University AdmissionComments over university admissions are still coming in even though I posted the discussion (with an ensuing debate with Mr Wang) one week ago, probably due to the references from Lucky Tan's site. After the initial outburst, I think the quality of discussion has improved.There is a thread on university education as a signalling device model (due to

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-21800922422675888802007-06-13T08:47:00.000Z2007-06-13T12:45:11.020Z

Putting Singaporeans FirstFive years ago, if someone were to suggest to me that Singaporeans should always come first, whether with regard to housing, healthcare or education, I would have agreed readily. But as you can tell from my recent posts, I have become more skeptical about these "Put Singaporeans First" instincts.Back in the 1980s, faced with competitive pressures from Japan, there was

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-78374984190711513632007-06-11T16:19:00.000Z2007-06-12T13:08:57.472Z

Protection for Singaporeans?A letter to the ST Forum over the weekend called for university places to be reserved for Singaporeans. I suspect by Singaporeans, the writer Mr Ong meant Singapore citizens only (not including permanent residents).Globalisation has created winners as well as losers, relatively if not absolutely speaking. Being a small country market, Singapore has much to gain being

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com83tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-22840454200027410442007-05-29T12:24:00.000Z2007-05-29T13:23:31.798Z

On Citizens, Permanent Residents and BumiputrificationI have wanted to write something about this for some time already, and my previous post serves as a convenient lead-in.Three ReflectionsOf the many national day rallies I have watched over the years, there is one that will be forever etched in my mind. It is the one when the then Prime Minister Goh suggested that Singaporeans who chose to

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-60259017088999026852007-05-26T22:50:00.000Z2007-05-28T04:34:25.743Z

The Taste of WelfareTwo months ago, I mentioned on this blog that my daughter Elena was born without any out of pocket expenses, courtesy of Britain's NHS. It was not immediately apparent to me then that the delivery and hospitalisation were only the beginning of a long list of benefits our family would receive.In the weeks after Elena's birth, we were visited at home by a midwife named Estry

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-65428022400324376402007-05-12T12:45:00.000Z2007-05-12T21:05:49.683Z

Farewell Prime Minister Blair"I have been very lucky and very blessed. This country is a blessed nation. The British are special, the world knows it, in our innermost thoughts, we know it. This is the greatest nation on Earth. It has been an honour to serve it." - Tony Blair.He was a special politician, very special. How many could utter these words after 10 years in power without sounding trite

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-84761692474083739502007-05-09T00:53:00.000Z2007-05-09T11:38:30.136Z

Retirement and HousingLucky Tan usually has some rather wild analysis and last week's post is no exception. The causation implied by the post is clear: (i) Govt forces Singaporeans to save in CPF; (ii) Govt allows Singaporeans to buy property using CPF; (iii) Singaporeans have no choice but to work longer since they do not have enough funds in their CPF accounts to support retirement.This is

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-12764487680735765602007-04-29T01:31:00.000Z2007-04-30T15:40:59.257Z

The Spirit of Mambo JumboYou know what I am talking about - Mambo Jumbo nights at Zouk. It had been many years since I last went Mamboeing, but yes, I would not be ashamed to admit that I used to enjoy it. But sometime in the late 1990s, I realised that I was looking too old the part compared to the other clubbers there and I told myself then that it was time to move on. Also, even as the

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-17138012280837315532007-04-20T10:56:00.000Z2007-04-20T21:42:42.364Z

Fiscal Finagling or Journalistic Bollocking?Last week, the article Fiscal Finagling supposedly highlighted some "structural weakness" of Singapore's growth and argued that it "augurs ill" for Singapore's long tem prospect. Lucky Tan set me up with a few questions on what myself as a student think about these issues.Old Wine in Recycled BottlesFirst of all, I would like to point out that many of

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-74847340489528277012007-04-11T13:17:00.001Z2007-04-12T11:54:07.135Z

Expected Career Income HypothesisIf you feel that many of the arguments about public sector pay have been reused and rehashed, this post can hopefully offer an antidote. One of the recurring themes in many posts concerns the issue of moral authority. KTM (and many others) basically argued that the increase in pay would cause office holders to lose moral authority and many readers undoubtedly

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-29478750642556084852007-03-28T23:43:00.000Z2008-12-13T07:42:07.388Z

Britain's ShiningThis should be an uplifting post to distract the Singaporean blogosphere from the hoo-ha over pay increase for political leaders and civil servants. I was already in some kind of twilight zone when I wrote this post, caught between sleep deprivation of the past 48 hours and the adrenalin still rushing inside. But I was certain that this story was worth another few minutes of my

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-58256367617408082352007-03-17T01:36:00.001Z2007-03-17T23:29:56.813Z

Reaction to Reactions to SM's CommentsWhen SM Goh made the remark about Singapore losing its top talent, there was the same predictable (over) reaction. Molly said we had sprung a leak. Aaron went about his favourite "we are not taking care of Singaporeans" lament. And worse, he seemed to imply that people were leaving because the government did not "take care" of them. The arguments were

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-25156294399996738282007-03-13T18:58:00.000Z2007-03-13T22:49:26.727Z

Some will be left behind"As globalisation causes dispersion of activity, some countries will experience rapid growth while others will be left behind" - Anthony Venables.Finally, the abridged version of Venables' article has been released. It is highly readable, written for the non-economist and does provide a good overview of the stakes in the development game. There is a longer version,

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-91853774391473716082007-03-11T22:56:00.000Z2007-03-12T09:54:56.597Z

The Job Fallacy and the Job HyperboleThe idea that there is a fixed and limited number of jobs to go around, that when someone else gets a job there is one less opening for me, must be one of the biggest economic fallacies. Jobs are not like land, there is no fixed supply of it. Unlike what the Luddites believed, not even improving technology could destroy jobs. Even as technology makes some jobs

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com249tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-31177241923769898102007-03-08T11:35:00.001Z2007-03-08T19:42:53.727Z

Immigration and Happiness - what is the link?I recently suggested that from the perspective of economic geography, attracting more immigrants and foreign talent to Singapore is a good thing. All of us will benefit in one way or another. Many Singaporeans suffering from competition with foreign talent will no doubt disagree with me. Yet, it is difficult to see just how much job competition

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-83256292672965270842007-02-28T12:30:00.000Z2007-03-01T10:03:48.770Z

Getting Darker? The Immigration DebateDiscussing immigration often brings out the worst in people. In an ironic way, this is entirely consistent with the behaviour of Homo Economicus, the rational self-interested man. Since he cares only about his own well-being, economic science therefore finds it perfectly reasonable that he should react strongly to any threat to his livelihood or lifestyle –

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-44618344935912769652007-02-25T18:59:00.000Z2007-02-25T22:31:51.014Z

The Rise of NationsThis is not a real post, but a description of a computer game that I had spent hundreds of hours playing. Actually, I was so drained after writing the piece on Economic Geography that I had decided to stop writing for a while. But then I saw this post Wurk Wurk that described what seemed to be an interesting game -Warcraft. Praise be due first, Xenoboy is one of the best

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-83441686036216521212007-02-21T11:38:00.000Z2007-02-22T11:43:39.751Z

Tipping Point – the Lessons of Economic GeographyThis is an overly ambitious post, to tackle a broad range of subjects that had been discussed in Singaporean cyberspace over the past couple of weeks (population, budget, income inequality etc). It would be near impossible to present detailed arguments within each topic, so there will be gaps in some arguments that are left unplugged. The reward

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-35053285302142064182007-02-14T15:21:00.000Z2007-02-14T15:24:17.193Z

Careful with the GiniIt now stands at 0.472 – which is roughly the same as the US at 0.469. But take this number with a pinch of salt, it has some serious drawbacks.(a) Singapore is a country but it is also a financial centre, there should therefore be no surprise at the greater income disparity. The City of London recently paid out record bonus, and a Hyde Park apartment recently sold for S

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-33640197477872513272007-02-04T17:20:00.000Z2007-02-05T11:25:59.441Z

Ninjas and Samurais on the InternetIt was in feudal Japan where the samurai was elevated to the status of the most esteemed warrior. It was also feudal Japan that gave the modern world the stereotype of the ninja, the dark, masked, silent assassin. Where the Samurai fought under the strict warrior code, the ninja was effective but only by stealth and trickery.With a broad brush stroke, one can

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1169556262058913852007-01-23T12:40:00.000Z2007-01-25T09:13:03.221Z

Economic nationalism is very much aliveOnly last week, allegations of Singapore spying in Thailand surfaced. It resulted in a heated debate with my Thai friends, including Pong, whom I had introduced a couple of months ago. Pong, no surprise, clearly believed that Temasek and Singapore acted in bad faith. If you are following Thailand's press like The Nation or Bangkok Post, you will have known

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1168989330954738282007-01-16T22:34:00.000Z2007-01-17T16:06:13.323Z

The Emotions and Economic Arguments of HDB PricingHDB pricing is an emotional issue - the true level of subsidy has been a subject of endless debate. Lucky Tan, ever the reactionary, has already come up with some clever arguments. If you have not already seen it, there is also a long essay circulating around the internet which devotes a long tirade against HDB pricing policy. From the economic

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1166524511514080392006-12-19T10:22:00.000Z2006-12-19T13:46:17.376Z

Three Points Down and Three Points UpThere is a well known problem in economics - the problem of time inconsistency. We all know that the policy maker always has the incentive to deviate from the announced policy (ex-post cheating) if he could get away with it. And because we citizens understand this incentive to cheat, we never believe what the policy maker says. We build in the expectation (

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1166371349472475612006-12-17T14:57:00.000Z2006-12-17T18:15:36.663Z

Pinch me, I am making so much money!For a newspaper often derided for being not much more than an official mouthpiece of the government, one would imagine Straitstimes to be a little more sensitive about reporting. Or perhaps it was because the newspaper had been mouthcuffed so much that there was really nothing much else to report. Or perhaps there just weren't many newsworthy events during the

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1165228108718693342006-12-04T09:59:00.000Z2006-12-04T16:26:37.850Z

The Perception and Reality of Income Gap - Take a Long Term ViewDiscussing income inequality is often emotional. Whether one thinks income inequality by itself is a problem or not often depends on convictions, it is sometimes akin to discussing religion. Reasonable people sometimes become unreasonable - rhetoric and political positioning become more important than facts and good policies.The

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1164820618385581372006-11-29T16:40:00.000Z2006-11-29T22:21:16.313Z

Goodbye SentosaI am quite excited about the Sentosa IR. Who would have thought that Palau Mati will become a world class resort? As much as possible, I have tried to look at the presentations done by the IR bidders posted online. But no, I have nothing to do with the selection process, so there is no more information than what is already known to the public.The Eighth Wonder project looks

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1164488055153497512006-11-25T20:53:00.000Z2006-11-25T23:00:05.623Z

Offshoring is not to Blame (and Hi-Tech may not be Enough)One of the best thing about studying at the LSE is the frequency which the school receives visiting economists from all over the world. Singapore universities do invite renowned economists – including Nobel Prize winners – to give public lectures (at no small expense I would imagine). I have attended some of these. My impression was that

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1163508518812021362006-11-14T12:32:00.001Z2006-11-14T15:55:30.060Z

The Economics of GST - Robbing Peter to pay Peter?A blog claims that increasing GST to fund social programmes is like robbing Peter to pay Peter (http://aaron-ng.info/blog/robbing-peter-to-pay-peter.html). Some of my friends also expressed how the stated intent of the GST increase - to help the poor - sounded like oxymoronic spin.I feel compelled to say something, from the standpoint of my

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1163289505479244802006-11-11T22:53:00.000Z2006-11-12T00:22:48.913Z

The Slave that the Emperor Cannot Slay (A scene from the movie Gladiator)Commodus (Emperor) : Rise, rise.[Maximus (Gladiator) stands up, clenching an arrow head in his right hand]Commodus: Your fame is well deserved, Spaniard. I don't think there's ever been a gladiator to match you. . . Why doesn't the hero reveal himself and tell us all your real name? You do have a name.Maximus: My name is

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1162247891317385502006-10-30T22:19:00.000Z2006-11-01T17:07:56.990Z

Excuse Me, are you an Elite? The Brutal Truth behind the Hazing of Wee Shu MinElite bashing has reached fever pitch in Singaporean blogosphere. There are nasty blogs, pictures, cartoon, and even a mean animation of the 18 year old girl caught in the middle of all this. Singaporean bloggers are falling over each other in the who can be more creatively mean stake.Those who mock Miss Wee so

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1161795215520792752006-10-25T16:38:00.000Z2006-10-25T23:19:56.296Z

The Hypocrisy of Moral IndignationIt was my army buddy Kevin who texted me from Singapore to inform me of this story. Grace and I almost flipped when we read how a teenage blogger Miss Wee Shu Min was given counselling for 'elitist' remarks.I can certainly understand how Miss Wee's remarks could have come across as insensitive. Government should help older workers. There are both moral and

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1160922204713561612006-10-15T13:58:00.000Z2006-10-19T14:49:17.106Z

The Unveiling of a DebateSomething really interesting happened in Britain in the past week - political correctness was blown apart. First, a cabinet minister Jack Straw said that he would ask veiled Muslim ladies visiting him at his 'meet the people' session to remove their veils, and that veils impede on developing inter-community relationship. Incidentally, a slight majority of people polled

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1159866577648311062006-10-03T08:29:00.000Z2006-10-03T09:17:49.923Z

The Pope and MM LeeWhat do the Pope and MM Lee have in common (besides wearing white)? They both gave their frank opinions recently (with much veracity in my humble opinion), created firestorms of controversy, and then had to issue apologies. MM Lee's apologies is carried on the BBC news website.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5401376.stmWith the globalisation of news media, a word

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1158756311315982062006-09-20T12:38:00.000Z2006-09-20T16:39:35.526Z

" Check Bill " - say it with a Thai accent (เช็กบิล)Thailand's coup was a blue sky lightning jolt - not an event many saw coming. Today, I met a Thai PhD student (let's just call him Pong, not his real name). He was elated with the military takeover back home. "Check Bill" he said, which in Thai colloquial meant payback time.For months now, Pong had been lamenting about the Thaksin government.

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1157495025471883732006-09-05T21:44:00.000Z2006-09-05T23:11:45.420Z

A Singaporean's Experience with the NHS (and a reunion with an old friend)The one truly amazing experience for any Singaporean who lives in the UK (besides the fact that it is 3 sing dollar to a pound!) is the National Health Service (NHS). NHS is a public funded healthcare service. As long as you are a legal resident in UK - citizen, permanent resident, student, working permit - and a valid

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1156848601972260972006-08-29T10:34:00.000Z2006-08-29T10:57:05.266Z

A Reactionary ForceA friend recently introduced me to this blog http://singaporemind.blogspot.com. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry when I see views like this. Is Lucky Tan but Chee Soon Juan in disguise?

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1156623477908169332006-08-26T19:33:00.000Z2006-09-08T08:21:09.193Z

The Big Link UpDPM Wong asked, "hello hello can you hear me?" Awkward seconds later, the lady from New York replied yes. And that kicked off the video conferencing that linked up Singaporeans gathered in New York, London, Berlin, Bangkok, Beijing and Shanghai using the www.overseassingaporean.sg portal (you might have heard this announced in NDR speech). It was noon in London, evening in the Far

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1156426384397237142006-08-24T13:05:00.000Z2006-08-24T22:30:41.750Z

Au revoirToday is my second last day with the Singapore Tourism Board. Colleagues and friends ask how I feel about the prospect of leaving the only company that I have ever worked for...without a job. The answer is Simply Great!Tourism is a strange industry. It attracts happy people with bright outlooks, chatty and passionate people, confident and beautiful people, and some say, a

simplygracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06971604309021267668noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1156368265970582702006-08-23T20:52:00.000Z2006-08-23T22:33:26.566Z

The End of the AffairThe picture you see on the left is Grace (right) with some of her staff at London's famous Four Seasons Restaurant, some would say with the best roast duck in the universe. The occasion was Grace's farewell party for this week marked her last at STB.Earlier in the month, Grace completed her 6-year bond with the organisation. Her relationship with STB of course started earlier

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1155507204373127852006-08-13T22:05:00.000Z2006-08-19T21:04:36.890Z

"Your tickets are now sent for procession. . .""The system cannot one . . ."If I were not a Singaporean, I could scarcely imagine how these sentences could have made any sense. But I am a Singaporean, and frighteningly, I understood exactly what the customer service operator meant. You see, I was booking the air tickets through Zuji for Grace and myself to return to Singapore for the Christmas

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32421016.post-1155109579341718302006-08-09T06:56:00.000Z2006-08-19T21:04:23.503Z

Singaporeans Non Grata9 August - Singapore National Day, the day I posted my thoughts on my very first blog.Last weekend, STB (with Tiger Beer) held the very first Chilli Crab Festival in London. Judging by the turnout, it was a tremendous success. The only hiccup was that the caterer ran out of crabs before the end of the event. Demand had greatly outstripped supply.Though it was a promotional

Bart JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875615532129172170noreply@blogger.com1