Ageing population has become one of the biggest social issues in Singapore in this current generation. A prominent contributing factor is Singapore’s high cost of living, which already makes it hard for locals to keep up financially. This In turn causes married couples to have lesser children as it is too costly to upkeep. Firstly, ageing population refers to a country with an increasing median age and its population having a declining fertility rate and life expectancy. The negative impact of this is that it will put a strain on the country itself as more counter measures have to be taken to aid the needs of these elderlies. Due to Singapore’s low birth rates, the government is having troubles replacing the older age people with younger ones. …show more content…
Instead of a simple mindset of just having a stable family, the younger generations are pursuing their education followed by careers, placing them as their main priority in life. The mindset of getting married is no longer an essential, let alone, bearing children. These young people are striving for higher positions with better incomes, starting a family would only hinder their goals and empty their wallets in such a country as Singapore with high standards of living. Overall, this makes it extremely hard for the government to counter the problem of the aging population through the means of increase …show more content…
As Singapore’s current replacement in fertility rate is 1.24, the chances of increasing the population growth to a consistent number is slim. Therefore, the only option to keep up with the growing workforce is to accept a larger pool of migrants which Singaporeans have to adapt to. Overall increasing the productivity rate of the country, which helps to bring in more revenue. But the setbacks are that the government may be viewed as not being for its people, but instead, only for the interest of foreign talents entering the country. Overall, it was mostly successful towards benefiting Singapore’s man power and productivity as a whole, as well as, increasing the
An aging population is indeed a problem for the society and will possibly cause many social and economic difficulties in the future. According to David Foot (2003), professor of Economics at University of Toronto, an effective birth rate of 2.2% against current 1.75% will be necessary to replace the current work force in the near future and the government’s policy of bringing in more immigrants will eventually fail (Foot, 2003, 2). However some people predict that the increased size of an aging population will drive growth in the home, health care, and many other industries resulting in job creation and economic growth (Marketwire, 2013, 1). Majority of the people are of the opinion that the issue will be mainly in the health care and economic activity. As humans age, they start to develop health problems, leading to more visits to a medical clinic putting extra burden on health care system.
Around the 1950’s, the media perpetuated the idea of the picturesque family unit; children made the shift from being a necessary evil to a symbol of status. Children were no longer meant to help sustain the family, so much as meant to be trophies of the parents’ competentness. Children became an outlet for parents to mold and live through vicariously: the more perfect your child was, the better parent you were. The problem is not that people want to have children, but that many cannot afford to take care of their spawn. Whether you are a young mother utilizing the assistance of government programs such as WIC or simply writing off your children on your taxes, you are making use of government incentive to procreate. Reproduction is completely natural; however, once backed by government incentive, the motivations for having children can take an unnatural turn. Children may be a symbol of love and unity, but it has expanded beyond the family unit. Many children have become the responsibility of the Unite...
Uhlenberg, Peter. 1992. “Population Aging and Social Policy.” Annual Review, Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Aging has become a worldwide issue as attentions to health status of older populations increase. As people age, they face different situations that lead them to the current point, satisfaction and health or vise versa. Researchers have conducted and identified various reasons affecting the health of elders. For example, childlessness, marital status, unemployment, and poor social integration are all recognized risk factors that influence the quality of life of older populations. Childlessness has raised a great concern since 1990, as one in every five elders aged over 65 report not having children (Zhang & Hayward, 2001). Another research has also argued, due to the high prevalence of delayed marriage, high divorce rates, and voluntary childlessness nowadays, numbers of childless elders are expected to increase over the next few decades (Zhang & Hayward, 2001). Zhang and Hayward (2001) also state that around 25% of older populations suffering from loneliness due to spouseless and childlessness in the near future is anticipated (Zhang & Hayward, 2001). Family, the basic component of one’s life, has always been considered as the primary source of well-being among older persons as it provides informal cares such as physical, emotional, and financial supports (Zhang & Hayward, 2001). In addition, presence of children or children in-law correlates with a better understanding and experiences of security, immortality, success, companionship, and affection among the elderly parents compared to older persons without children. Childless elders are often found to have limited social networks and passive engagement in social activities (Zhang & Hayward, 2001). However, effects of childlessness among older population are inconsis...
Aging Workforce-To address the aging work force slight changes have been made to the one child policy (previously mentioned), but in the short run there isn’t a lot that China can do now. Suggestions such as opening up immigration policy and increasing the child policy have been made. (Pozen, 2013).
In the Philippines, the ages to be considered a senior citizen are those who are aged 60 years old and over. The senior citizens made up 6.8 percent of the 92.1 million household populations in 2010, higher than the 6.0 percent recorded in 2000 and the number reached over six million in 2011 and it is seen to double in 16 years. The number of people 60 years old and above, or those considered as senior citizens, has increased, as the country's household population increases. With the growing number of senior citizens, there is a generalized notion associated with senior citizens such as degeneration and decline of health and well being but on the contrary, most of them are still active and productive, performing significant roles at home and
Due to the lack of decency and respect in this generation, society has become very dark. There is poor parenting taking place in this overpopulated world, and it is effecting all the future generations. Teenage parents, are uneducated and unprepared to be to raise a child. They believe they are responsible enough to take on the world and raise a family. Unfortunately, this is false information. Considering they are teenagers, they were unable to get their lives set up for success, and then they make the same parenting mistakes multiple times and end up with a huge family way below the poverty line. For every married couple, two children are all it takes to keep the world’s population at a constant rate. In too many families, there are more than two children, causing to exceed the death rate. In Overpopulation: Causes, Effects and Solutions, Rinkesh Kukreja
One of the key challenges faced by working women is striking a harmony between work and personal or family life. To be a good mother necessitates less time spent at the workplace, and to have a full time job means less time spent with their children. In the present work environment, women can have more children and continue to work but they will suffer from anxiety over their children's welfare, or their children will suffer because of the physical and mental burden women have of balancing family concerns and work. However, if women opt out of the work force, they will forgo the benefits of employment, including social integration, social status and financial independence. As life expectancy of women increases, good health and effective financial management are important to ensure that when they live and work longer, they are also financially well prepared for old age. The female participation in the Singapore labor force has risen significantly over the years however it is still lower than that in many developed countries. Singapore women are more likely to drop out of the labor force after marriage and childbirth. Many do not resume work, unlike in Japan and Korea where most of the women would rejoin the workforce when their children are older.
We will find out how Singapore manage to raises it economic development in such rapid growth aftermath of war and separation.
Over many years it has become one of the most prosperous countries because of its economy that promoted foreign investment and migrants to work (Tan). Similar to China, Singapore’s government synthesized population plans led by the People’s Action Party of 1959. The government came out with the proposal of the “White Paper on Population.” The White Paper was about addressing the issue of the aging population and low birth rates so that population could be sustained. Land was increased to 8% to accommodate the increasing population. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loon said, “Our priority is to maintain a strong Singaporean core by encouraging Singaporeans to get married and have children. We will reduce inflow of foreign workers, moderate flow of new citizens and maintain [permanent resident] population at about present size" (Tan). There is a prediction in 2025 that the population will decrease because the baby boomers will retire. People in Singapore are sad with the increase of population and start to feel the stresses of
...n of the Malays in relation to the government’s policies. Amongst them include Rahim’s book (1999), which highlights the failure of meritocracy in Singapore due to the government’s employment of the cultural deficit thesis, which “absolves the state from the responsibilities of implementing structural reforms and actively assisting the marginalised community with the aim of narrowing the socio-economic and educational disparity between the ethnic communities” (p.247).Once again, we see that government policies, which may be have been intended to improve the marginalised status of the Malays, have worsened their socio-economic marginality.
Since Singapore gained sovereignty in 1965 from Malaysia, its politics has been dominated by the People Action Party. Under the leadership of People Action Party, Singapore has a “distinct political culture: authoritarian, pragmatic, rational and legalistic.” Economic growth and political stability were maintained by the People Action Party’s guidance. Thus, Singapore is corruption- free government where power is gained through skill and performance that attracted investments from other countries (“Introduction to Singapore’s political system”, 2011). Singapore scored the point of 1.33 in the 2009 World Bank’s governance indicators for the factor political stability. The government also opens a number of sectors such as financial services o, telecommunications, power generation, and retail to increase competition and foreign firms (eStandardsForum, February 2010).
Singapore as a country has had various transformations throughout its history, however the period 1950 and 1970 was quite critical. Much of these changes had a lot to do with the development of trade and manufacturing. This is without forgetting the financial sector where the intention was to come up with a financial hub that could be used in economic development. Looking at the case of Singapore, we would say that it is a productive economy with a very high market competition. This observation has been further clarified by the Swiss International Institute for Management Development, going with their report that they released in the year 2001 (Chellaraj & Mattoo, 2009). In this study, we intend to evaluate the case of political economy of development in Singapore and examine the tensions between the state and various economic institutions. In additions to examining this institution, we would also like to examine how these variables have contributed towards the attainment of favorable growth rates and economic prosperity.
In addition, after the 2011 Singapore general election, the government of Singapore has greatly changed its economic approach and it seems to be better for the economy of Singapore so far. On the other hand, measures have also been taken to cool down the property market which has constantly affected inflation rates, also tightened the foreign labour policies that constantly influence the labour market and unfold its impacts onto the Singapore’s economy as it comes back in one round. The unemployment rate in Singapore has been maintaining itself as being one of the lowest numbers in the world. The majority of Singapore’s labour force is well educated and highly skilled. Even primary education is a must for all citizens (Economywatch.com, 2010). In addition, for the year 2010, Singapore had the 8th largest current account balance in the world at US$49.454 billion. To conclude, Singapore has come so far from its sunken economy since independence in 1965 to become a booming and prosperous economy that it is
Singapore is an example of a cosmopolitan migrant nation comprising of nearly forty percent of non-citizens currently. These immigrants consist of both foreign talents and foreign workers to contribute to the economy and society.