Ethos Issue 06

Issue 06, July 2009
ETHOS Issue 06

This issue of ETHOS marks the 10th anniversary of the Asian Financial Crisis in October 2007 and reviews the lessons from the crisis. Featuring Peter Shergold, Bradford Delong, Linda LIm and Manu Bhaskaran.

Editorial

Buoyed by years of seemingly illimitable growth, corporate and public institutions in highly sophisticated economies pursued aggressive policies based — as it turned out — on risky, unsupported and less than prudent assumptions about the future. For this failed gamble, the world is still paying a price whose final sum has yet to be fully determined.

Leadership at a Time of Crisis

Five key qualities are demanded of civil servants at a time of crisis, argues Professor Peter Shergold, a distinguished public service veteran and Senior Visiting Fellow at the Civil Service College.

Book Review: Krugman, Wolf and the Roots of the Financial Crisis

Krugman, Wolf and the Roots of the Financial Crisis

Opinion: It’s Not Over Yet

A quick and painless recovery is unlikely, as delayed effects of the economic crisis have yet to kick in.

Extraordinary Times, Fundamental Principles: The 2009 Budget and the Ministry of Finance’s Approach to Countercyclical Economic Strategy

Four key principles anchor the bold anti-recessionary measures in Singapore’s 2009 Budget.

Thinking Beyond the Crisis

Noted economics historian and commentator Professor Bradford DeLong, traces the roots of the current crisis, and expresses confidence in the long-term resilience of the global economy

Crisis-proof Governance

The Ethos Roundtable brings together thought leaders and practitioners to discuss key issues of interest to the public service. In this session, three eminent participants in Singapore’s second Leaders in Governance Programme reflect on the impact of the economic crisis on their home countries, and their strategies for recovery

Singapore’s Economic Growth Model: Too Much or Too Little?

Staying Ahead of the Game

The End of the World (Economy) as We Know It

“…After this crisis, the world is not going to be the same again. This is not just another cyclical downturn and recovery. The world’s economy is undergoing a structural shift. ”
— Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament, 27 May 2009

Auctions, Market Experiments and Public Policy

Rethinking Incentives for the Downturn

Management approaches that engage and enable employees are needed more than ever in a downturn, argues Hay Group’s Stephen Choo

Singapore’s Political Economy: Two Paradoxes

Economist Bryan Caplan, noted for his insights on public choice, visited Singapore in November 2008. His observations address how “economically efficient, but politically unpopular” policies might successfully be carried through a democratic system, and sheds light on the environment in which public policy is made and implemented in Singapore.