This letter was first published in The Straits Times on 10 February 2017.

Recently, Minister Chan Chun Sing stressed the need to “make sure the fruits of our growth is fairly distributed”, emphasising the “responsibility” of the successful to take care of others.

This is an important vision. Yet findings from a new World Economic Forum (WEF) report on inclusive growth and development suggest that Singapore can do more to meet this aspiration.

Among the 30 advanced economies considered, Singapore has the highest level of net income inequality, and the highest Gini-coefficient – a measure of inequality – even after taxes and transfers. It ranks second last in social protection.

We may be one of the most competitive economies in the world, and do well in several areas – ranking third in business and political ethics, and having a high quality education system. However, this does not automatically translate into a better life for everyone, when there are insufficient mechanisms to redistribute wealth or provide adequate social protection for vulnerable groups.

The report specifically highlights gender parity as a major component of economic inclusion. It states that Singapore “ranks poorly on female participation in the labor force and the economy would benefit from narrowing the gender pay gap”.

In 2015, women were 64% of residents outside the labour force, a number totaling 670,000 individuals, with 41% citing family responsibilities as the reason. Furthermore, women on average earn less than men – for every dollar a man makes, a woman earns 89 cents.​[1]​

Notably, Singapore is listed as the only country in the group of advanced economies that does not provide any form of coverage of old-age pension. The emphasis on Central Provident Fund savings for achieving financial security in old age tends to disadvantage women, who have both lower lifetime earnings and longer lifespans. In 2015, the median CPF savings for women (aged 51-54) were 14% less than those for men.

Finally, Singapore could do better on producing and releasing comprehensive public data for the purposes of social and policy research. While highlighting particular areas of concern, WEF could not give Singapore an overall rank due to missing data on the poverty line and median income.​[2]​

​Singapore is the only country among the 30 advanced economies without a poverty line.

For growth to be sustainable, it must be inclusive. We hope that the Government takes the opportunity offered by the forthcoming Budget to address these concerns.

​[1] http://reports.weforum.org/inclusive-growth-and-development-report-2017/scorecard/#economy=SGP (under ‘Employment and labour compensation’ → ‘wage and non-wage compensation’​
​[2] The calculation of median income by WEF is different from that used by Singapore​