An Assessment of the Singapore Skills Development System: Does It Constitute a Viable Model for Other Developing Nations?

Sarosh Kuruvilla, Cornell University
Christopher L. Erickson, University of California, Los Angeles
Alvin Hwang, Pace University

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Suggested Citation
Kuruvilla, S., Erickson, C., & Hwang, A. (2001). An assessment of the Singapore skills development system: Does it constitute a viable model for other developing nations? Retrieved [insert date] from Cornell University, ILR School site: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/articles/214/

Required Publisher Statement
Copyright by Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. Final paper published as Kuruvilla, S., Erickson, C., & Hwang, A. (2002). An assessment of the Singapore skills development system: Does it constitute a viable model for other developing nations? World Development, 30, 1461-1476.

Abstract

In this paper, we briefly describe the institutional background to Singapore’s successful national skills development model. We devise a tentative framework to evaluate national level skills development efforts, and we use it to assess the Singapore model. We argue that the model has the potential to constantly move towards higher skills equilibria, and in those terms, it is successful. However, we question the long-term sustainability of the model, and whether it is transferable to other developing nations. We outline several useful principles that other nations might use in organizing their own skills development systems.