Another good article that I would like to share ....
S Korea – they grow economy thru innovation & productivity
February 14th, 2013 | Author: Contributions
Due to low fertility rate of 1.2 and a generation of baby boomers born around 1960s, the S. Korean society is one of the fastest ageing in the world. So far the S. Korean govt has not resorted to massive immigration and opening the floodgates to cheaper foreign labor. Businesses without access to cheap foreign labor have to increase productivity by investing in automation, improving its businesses processes and innovation.
Despite mounting pressure from businesses demanding cheap foreign labor from Philippines, China and India, the S. Korean leaders did not succumb to pressure to implement pro-business policies to allow businesses to import cheap labor to boost their profits. The S. Korean economy did not sink from the lack of labor force growth instead flourished with improvements in labor productivity and the innovation of home grown industries.
We sometimes forget that S. Korea is a relatively small country with a population of 50M given its cultural influence and industrial giants like Samsung. The policy choices made by S. Korea are hardly unique. Smaller countries like Finland and Denmark (5.5m population) with ageing population chose to focus on maximizing the talents of their indigenous population and growth through productivity.
The PAP claims we need to import foreigners to care for old (support ratio argument). The aged in these countries are well taken care of without the need for massive import of people. Did our massive import of people in the last decade help to secure a comfortable life for our elderly? No, many of our old folks are working at an age when they should be retired and struggling with poor health because there is little help for them from the state.
The White Paper “projects” a 45% foreigner population and this % is higher if you count foreigners converted to citizens – the people born and raised in Singapore will probably drop to below 50%.
To see how extreme the PAP policies have been and will continue to be with the White Paper, we take a look at S. Korea’s plan for 2030:
“With one of the world’s fastest-aging populations, South Korea has gone from a country where labor was the only abundant resource to one seeking staff to help run the plants and farms of Asia’s fourth-largest economy. While neighboring Japan has largely rejected imported labor as a solution to its aging workforce, South Korea is beginning to accept it. Immigrants have risen sevenfold since 2000, to 2.8 percent of the population, and could make up more than 6 percent by 2030, the government said.” Bloomberg Report [Link]
World class innovations from S. Korea
Yes, a dynamic vibrant world beating S. Korean economy that presently has 2.8% foreigners will increase it to 6% by 2030. By keep its labor force tight, and not yielding to pressure from businesses for cheap foreign labor, S. Korea had been able to build on its its first economic miracle to create a 2nd carried by the cultural creativity of Gangnam Style and technological innovation in Samsung’s Note II.
Singaporeans today are told there is no alternative but to continue with with old policies of growth by importing labor. Our business lobbies, the various chambers of commerce, echo the threats of businesses to leave or close down unless they are given access to foreign labor – the last 15 years of pro-business policy of opening the floodgates to foreign labor has made our businesses more dependent on foreign labor. Unless we take bold steps to break out of this vicious cycle now, the damage we bring to ourselves will be irreparable.
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Lucky Tan
* Lucky Tan is an avid online blogger since 2005. He likes to study the thoughts of Singapore leaders and the laws of Singapore. He blogs at
http://singaporemind.blogspot.com.
