ETHOS Issue 06
July 2009
Last updated 30 July 2026
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
by Alvin Pang
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
by Peter Shergold
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
Reviewed by He Ruimin
Krugman, Wolf and the Roots of the Financial Crisis
Opinion: It’s Not Over Yet
by Manu Bhaskaran
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
by Jonathan Pflug
Four key principles anchor the bold anti-recessionary measures in Singapore’s 2009 Budget.
Thinking Beyond the Crisis
Interview with Bradford DeLong
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
ETHOS roundtable with Sa Bali Abas , Sabir Said Al-Harbi and Solomon Molebatsi Sekwakwa,
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?
by Linda Lim
Staying Ahead of the Game
by Bernard Nee and Julia Yap
The End of the World (Economy) as We Know It
by Adeline Aw, Lee Chor Pharn and Wee Shu Lin
“…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
Interview with Professors Vernon L. Smith, Stephen Rassenti and Bart Wilson
Rethinking Incentives for the Downturn
by Stephen Choo
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
by Bryan Caplan
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.
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