ABSTRACT
Having attained a high level of socio-economic development despite its relatively small size, Singapore has often been heralded – at least among Asian nations – as a model of good governance. At the heart of Singapore’s policy processes and public administration lies a state-centric and development-oriented model of governance, one that has emphasized economic growth both as a policy objective and ideological focus. This chapter will provide a broad overview of Singapore’s policy style, focusing on the institutions and policy instruments that it encapsulates. Specifically, this contribution argues that the policy style of this city-state comprises two main institutional features – namely, policy centralization and administrative transparency – with each institutional feature associated with a specific set of policy instruments. In delineating between the respective institutional and instrumental components of Singapore’s policy style, this chapter endeavors to provide a more systematic approach to understanding the policy style of this and other developmental states in Asia.
