Background

In Singapore, a global city-state, globalisation processes play a key role in shaping the future of our economic security and cultural integrity. This includes bringing "the world" to Singapore in terms of an internationalised economy and cosmopolitan society, but it also involves the outward expansion of Singapore and Singaporeans, taking advantage of economic opportunities and the experience of cultural difference around the world.

Aims

• to understand and explain interconnections between Singapore and other globalising places.
• to focus on the nature of: economic interconnections, particularly Singapore's foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia, East Asia, Europe and Australia and socio-cultural interconnections, including the temporary and permanent migration of Singaporeans abroad.

Duration

The principal work of the project is conducted through five closely connected research themes pursued by its core team of investigators. The research spans three continents and is being conducted over three years (July 1997 to July 2000).

Core Research Team Members/Themes

1. Dr Henry Yeung (Co-Principal Investigator; Department of Geography, NUS) is examining the role of the Singaporean government in the success of local firms investing in China (especially Beijing and Suzhou).

2. Dr Kris Olds (Co-Principal Investigator; Department of Geography, NUS) and Dr Anne Haila (Collaborator; Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Copenhagen) are investigating the nature of Singaporean involvement in residential property markets in two global cities - London and Sydney.

3. Professor Peter Dicken (Collaborator; Professor of Geography at Manchester University, and Visiting Professor at Department of Geography, NUS, June-December 1997) is investigating the development of trade and investment relationships between Singaporean firms and the European Union.

4. Dr Philip Kelly (Collaborator; Southeast Asian Studies Programme, NUS) is exploring issues involved in investment flows from Singapore into the Southeast Asian region. His research focuses on the formation and regulation of local labour markets in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

5. Dr Lily Kong (Collaborator; Department of Geography, NUS) is focusing on the ways Singaporeans adapt to the new social and cultural circumstances of globalisation and regionalisation. In particular, she is examining the experiences of Singaporeans living and working in China/Hong Kong and Australia.

The research team is collaborating with Associate Professor Linda Low (Department of Business Policy, NUS), an expert on Singapore's economy.

Relevance

• to contribute to public policy and decision making, especially in connection with the Singapore government's globalisation/regionalisation programme; and
• to contribute to an understanding of globalisation and regionalisation trends on a scale sufficient to make NUS a world recognised centre of expertise.

Outputs

• a high profile workshop and public forum on globalisation (3-5 December 1997), leading to an edited book titled Globalisation and the Asia Pacific: Contested Territories to be published by Routledge, London in early 1999.
• a number of professional articles for publication in internationally refereed journals and a co-authored book bringing together the team's research findings in a coherent format to be published by an international publishing house.

Further Enquiry: Dr. Henry Yeung (874 6810; geoywc@nus.edu.sg) or Dr. Kris Olds (874 6811; geoko@nus.edu.sg)