From the Third World to the First

Sammanfattning: Over the past half century, Singapore has gone from a tiny island in Southeast Asia to becoming one of the world's most developed countries. Singapore's achievements are reflected not only economically, but also in its emergence as a global innovation and financial services center. The intrinsic single-case study country narrative approach will be used in this study to explore the nature and evolution of the role of the state in Singapore's economic development over the decades through a combination of primary and secondary data analysis. The cooperation between various sectors of Singapore's economy and the implementation of industrial policy are investigated. Based on Chalmers Johnson's (1982, 1999) model of the developmental state as the theoretical framework, this study analyzes the role and influence of authoritarian state power in promoting economic development. The primary and secondary qualitative data are presented in graphic form, and indicate that the government has indeed driven Singapore's economic success. The study found that during the survey period, the Singapore government used state- owned enterprises to explore emerging markets, then gradually and cautiously handed them over to the private sector as they matured. The state used foreign direct investment (FDI) to stimulate the vitality of the domestic market and drive the inflow of technology. The country's small but sophisticated bureaucracy operated efficiently, playing the role of an entrepreneur in economic development. The government directly participated in economic development and guided the capital flow to specific industries through the implementation of industrial policies to help Singapore achieve industrialization and technological innovation. The survey results also show that the state power of the government has not gradually weakened with the economic development of Singapore, which is mainly due to the vulnerability of the economy to external shocks. It is precisely because of the government's continuous intervention in the economy that Singapore's economy is resilient and has recovered strongly despite experiencing several financial crises.