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Information Economy and Changing OccupationalStructure in Singapore

Eddie C. Y. KuoSchool of Communication Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Linda LowFaculty of Business Administration, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Using population census data since 1921, this article traceschanges in employment and occupational structure in Singaporein the past 80 years. This is a follow-up to an earlier paper byKuo and Chen (1987) that reported the nascent formation of theinformation society in Singapore till the 1980s. It also makes anassessment of the role of proactive government policies in directingindustrial restructuring and occupational changes in this city-state.

It is found that the long-term growing trend in information-related occupations has been in tandem and supportive of indus-trial changes inSingapore.One more wave of growth of informationproducers (and certainly, innovators) and information distribu-tors is expected in the next couple of decades. The momentum hasstarted, and competition from regional countries similarly aspir-ing to be information and knowledge economies will quicken thepace. The government has initiated fundamental changes in theeducational system to meet the challenges of the knowledge-basedeconomy.The small city-state has also long adopted an adaptive phi-losophy to be responsive to the ever-changing environment, eitherin technology or in regional politics. Based on the trend analysis, itis expected that the emergent information society will graduate intofull status when Singapore attains a developed country status in theforthcoming decades.

Keywords information economy, occupational structure, Singapore

Two general approaches to an information economy arefound in the literature. One sees transformation in the com-position of output and labor as constituting the elements

Received 11 December 1997; accepted 20 May 1999.Address correspondence to Professor Eddie C. Y. Kuo, School

of Communication Studies, Nanyang Technological University, 31Nanyang Link, Singapore 637718. E-mail: cykuo@ntu.edu.sg

of the new economy (see, for example, Porat, 1977). Theother perceives technological advances as constituting thechange per se (see, for example, Freeman, 1987). Accord-ing to the former view, postindustria l societies are char-acterized by a shift from producing goods to producingservices, with accompanying implications on the employ-ment of labor.

Correspondingly, there are also two general approachesto the concept of an information society. According toWebster (1995), one camp of theorists endorses the idea ofan information society as “a new society that has emergedfrom the old,” while the other group regards “informati-zation” as the “continuation of pre-established relations(p. 5).1 On the former are theories of postindustrialis m(Bell, 1976), postmodernism (Baudrillard, 1975; Poster,1994), � exible specialization (Piore & Sabel, 1984;Hirschhorn, 1984), and the informational mode of devel-opment (Castells, 1989; Castells & Hall, 1994). On the lat-ter, emphasizing continuities are theories of neo-Marxism(Schiller, 1969, 1976), regulation theory (Aglietta, 1979;Lipietz, 1986), � exible accumulation (Harvey, 1989), thenation state and violence (Giddens, 1985), and the publicsphere (Habermas, 1989; Garnham, 1990).

This study follows the “transformation” school of con-ceptualization and de� nes an information society as onethat grows and develops around information that bringsabout a � ourishing state of human creativity instead ofmere af� uent material consumption (Masuda, 1990, p. 1).More speci� cally, the concept of an information society isbased on two premises. The � rst involves the productionof information values (and not material values) as the driv-ing force behind the formation and development of society.Furthermore, following a historical analogous model, it isprojected that human society is moving toward an econ-omy in which information is the core of society’s economic

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282 E. C. Y. KUO AND L. LOW

needs. Both the economy and society hence grow and de-velop around the production and use of information values.Information as an economic product will thus exceed phys-ical goods, energy, and services in importance (Masuda,1990, p. 66).

Some perception that the information society representsa stage of evolution from industrializatio n rather than a newform of society is also made (see, for example, Beninger,1986; Schement & Curtis, 1995; Chandler, 1977). Porat’sseminal identi� cation of various information sectors is re-� ective of the process of economic transformation. In theSingapore context, much of the desired industrial trans-formation is policy induced. As such, the transformationapproach adopted in this article is particularly appropri-ate in drawing on policy and state-led industrializatio n toengender a knowledge economy in particular and an in-formation society in general. A knowledge economy rep-resents a shift from raw materials and capital equipmentto information and knowledge as intellectual capital or in-puts for production, distinguishin g it from a raw materialeconomy. Both the knowledge economy and informationsociety are in turn associated with the digital economy, asinformation and knowledge are transmitted in the digitalform. Another hybrid of this etymology is a knowledge-based economy used in the Singapore context as gettingworkers to apply knowledge creatively and innovatively intheir work and in solving problems.

Furthermore, the present study focuses on one dimen-sion of an information society, the occupational structure,as an indicator to trace industrial restructuring and eco-nomic transformation in an economy. Applied to the in-formation industry, the analysis of the occupational struc-ture should further calibrate the pace of informatizationand hence the emergence of the information society thatfollows the wake of the knowledge economy2 and the thirdwave in industrializatio n (Drucker, 1992).

This article is a follow-up to an earlier paper by Kuoand Chen (1987) that reported the nascent formation ofthe information society in Singapore. More than updatingthat piece of work, this article aims at assessing the roleof proactive government policies in directing industrialrestructuring and occupational changes in Singapore.

After more than three decades of modern industrial -ization, Singapore’s economic strategies and performancecan be appraised as the passage of time has allowed pro-duction of statistics and information. Singapore is uniqueas a city-state that has been relatively successful againstmany odds. From an entrepot economy switching to a man-ufacturing base, it has turned full circle, as its modern ser-vice sector remains the linchpin despite industrialization .Information technology and the information industry, inparticular, constitute the important catalyst as well as thevanguard of continued sustained growth. The tyranny oftime and space is conquered with information technology

as Singapore ratchets up into a “virtual state” (Rosecrance,1999).

The present analysis, like that in the earlier paper byKuo and Chen (1987), draws its data from past populationcensuses, with the latest statistics from the 1990 census.Occupational statistics from censuses can be dated back to1921, much earlier than those based on industrial , labor,employment, and economic surveys. Estimates on grossdomestic product (GDP), for instance, were made onlyin 1960 after the � rst census of industria l production wasconducted in the late 1950s. Employment and labor statis-tics through employment surveys started only in the early1970s. These survey data are available only at one- and-three-digit levels, unlike those from the population census,which provided data with more detailed subcategories.

While a long time series for census of population datais available, the usual problem of consistency and com-parability of statistics over the years remains. There havebeen expansion, changing de� nitions, and recategoriza-tion of new and obsolete industries and activities to re� ectindustria l restructuring and diversi� cation, deepening ofskills, and technology and scienti� c applications. For in-stance, the category “computer professionals” appearedfor the � rst time in the 1970 census—and there were 53of them. The number grew to 8508 in 1990. From 1921to 1947, “teacher” as a category referred to teachers ofall types. In the 1957 census, teachers of higher educa-tion were listed separately. After 1970, speci� c categorieswere used to refer to teachers of different levels, including“special education.” Such changes themselves are signif -icant and highly informative of the changing social andoccupational structure. As the census data are analyzedin the next section, some differences in data in terms ofde� nition or measurement are noted. In our analysis of in-formation workforce, only broad categories are used. Assuch, any inconsistency in labels and de� nitions in occu-pations would have minimal effect in the analysis of theoverall trends in changing occupational structure.

Asa small, open economy with scarce natural resources,a heavy hand of government intervention in Singapore’seconomy, whether out of necessity or design, is predi-cated. Our subsequent analysis also shows a pattern ofpolicy-directed and induced changes. Empirical data fromcensuses can be seen as indicative of the success of certainpolicy objectives. Intuitively, the occupational restructur-ing follows as much from a supply-induced policy as thegovernment places a strong emphasis on education andhuman resource development to support the industrializa -tion program (Low et al., 1991). In fact, reforms in theeducation system, continuous education and training, andmanpower and postemployment training programs to keepup with ever-changing technologies by upgrading skills area vital pillar of Singapore’s competitiveness and viability.The government is undertaking major and fundamental

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INFORMATION ECONOMY IN SINGAPORE 283

reforms in the education system, and continues to stresslifelong education and postemployment training to keepup with ever-changing technologies and the demand for aknowledge-based labor force.

In monitoring the trends in the occupational structureand, in particular, changes in the information workforce,this article also aims to raise further issues and challengesas Singapore enters the new millennium, facing growingcompetition ahead in both the regional and internationa lcontexts.

In the next section, we present a detailed analysis of theemployment and occupational structure in the informationsector. This is followed by an identi� cation of issues andchallenges in the following section. The article concludeswith a discussion on some policy suggestions and impli-cations for Singapore’s information society in the comingmillennium as it joins the ranks of developed countries.

THE CHANGING EMPLOYMENT ANDOCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE

Planned Industrial Restructuring

Industrialization in Singapore began in the 1960s with thetypical low, value-added, import-substitutin g strategy. Itthen moved to the export-orientation phase from the late1960s after Singapore withdrew from the Federation ofMalaysia and with it, the prospects of a common market(Chng et al., 1986). Subsequently, the strategy of attractingdirect foreign investment and multinationa l corporations(MNCs) brought in the needed expertise, technology, andmarkets.

After the 1985 recession, the Economic DevelopmentBoard (EDB) identi� ed a list of priority industries. It fo-cused on high technology as in advanced electronics, prod-uct testing and analysis, medical, scienti� c instrumentsand other precision products, biotechnology, process con-trol and automation equipment, optical and electro-opticalapplications , specialized chemicals, and plastics, amongothers. In addition, the service sector was also given strongsupport to develop a twin-engine of the growth strategy.Together with � nance, banking, insurance, tourism, com-munication, and transportation , information technologywas given a role as one of the main actors in the mod-ern service sector.

The National Science and Technology Board (NSTB),formed in 1991, charted the � rst National Technology Plan(NTP), which aimed for gross national expenditure on re-search and development (R&D) to reach 2% of GDP andto have 40 research scientists and engineers (RSEs) per10,000 labor force by 1995. (Singapore National Scienceand Technology Board, 1993, 1995) The National Com-puter Board (NCB) produced the National InformationTechnology (IT) Plan in 1986, followed in 1991 by the

IT2000 (Wong, 1992). Also in 1991, the EDB unveiledits Strategic Economic Plan (SEP; Ministry of Trade andIndustry, 1991), which identi� ed 11 industry clusters. Allthese national plans, NTP, IT2000, and SEP are consis-tent and unambiguous in emphasising a determined policytoward high technology and science.

Such changes in industrializatio n strategies since theearly 1960s are re� ected in the changes in the employmentpatterns in various sectors and the trend in the distributionof information workers, to be discussed in the followingsections. The � ndings will establish the relationships be-tween industrializatio n and changing occupational struc-ture on one hand and the policy initiatives by the govern-ment to realize this link on the other. The proactive waythe state has linked policy initiatives with industrializatio nand occupational restructuring has been induced by bothdomestic and external factors. Paramount among the do-mestic factors is the shrinking population due to a naturaldemographic trend and the government’s earlier success-ful family planning policy. Among the external factors isrising competition from more resource abundant neigh-boring countries. A well-trained labor force is vital forSingapore. More productive and advanced technologiesand activities inevitably tend toward the knowledge-basedeconomy that Singapore is aspiring to have as enunciatedby its Committee on Singapore’s Competitiveness (CSC;Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, 1998, p. 34).The knowledge-based economy will accelerate with newemerging digital products, technology, and software, andhuman and intellectual capital will become Singapore’snew competitive factor. The concept of “technopreneurs”or technological entrepreneurs is being promoted with re-laxation of rules as in a review of bankruptcy laws anduse of public Housing and Development Board (HDB)� ats as of� ces as announced by Prime Minister Goh ChokTong (Singapore Business Times, 3 February 1999). Thiswould be followed up by the Technopreneurship 21 Min-isterial Committee to be chaired by the Deputy PrimeMinister Tony Tan, who is also the minister in charge ofthe local universities (Singapore Straits Times, 4 February1999)

Sector Distribution of Employment

The statistics of the distribution of labor force in vari-ous economic sectors are presented in Table 1. Over thedecades, and consistent with the process of industrial -ization, the employment in the primary sector declinedsteadily from 13.8% in 1921 to 0.3% in 1990, having beenabsorbed by the secondary sector. However, it is impor-tant to note that employment in the secondary sector re-mained relatively stable in the past decade, from 37.7%in 1980 to 37.5% in 1990. Within the sector, manufactur-ing employment declined with labor-saving technology,

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284 E. C. Y. KUO AND L. LOW

TABLE 1Employment by sectors, 1921–1990 (% of total labor force)

Sectors¤ 1921 1931 1947 1957 1970 1980 1990

Primary 13:8 11:2 8:1 8:5 3:5 1:6 0:3Secondary 16:2 16:6 19:4 20:9 30:1 37:7 37:5

Quarry 0:5 0:6 0:4 0:3 0:3 0:1 0:1Manufacturing 13:8 13:9 16:7 14:2 22 30:1 29:1Construction 1:8 2:1 2:1 5:2 6:6 6:7 7:9Utilities 0:1 ¤¤ 0:2 1:2 1:2 0:8 0:4

Service 59:5 59 69:1 70:2 66:3 60:7 62:2Transport & communication 20:7 17:2 14:5 10:7 12:1 11:1 9:5Trade 20:9 22:3 19:4 24:2 23:4 21:3 22Finance & business 0:4 0:9 3:8 4:6 4 7:4 10:9Other 17:5 18:6 31:4 30:7 26:8 20:9 19:8

Unde� ned 10:5 13:1 3:4 0:4 0:1 ¤¤ ¤¤

Total % 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Total labor force (’000) 238:6 274:3 357:5 471:9 650:9 1007:1 1537

Sources: Computed from the Census of British Malaya, 1921, Table 32, pp. 236–239; the Census ofBritish Malaya, 1931, Table 118, pp. 246–247; Malaya: A report on the 1947 Census of Population,Table 87, pp. 473–476; 1957 Census of Population, Singapore, Table 84, pp. 202–215; Report on the1970 Census of Population, Table 79, pp. 99–103; Census of Population 1980 Singapore Release No. 4,Economic Characteristics Table 33, p. 65; and Census of Population 1990, Singapore Release No. 4,Economic Characteristics Table 9, p. 11.

¤Data for 1957, 1970 and 1980 are classi� ed according to the Singapore Standard IndustrialClassi� cation(SSIC) 1978. Data for 1921, 1931 and 1947 are estimates based on SSIC 1978. Classi� cation of sectorfollows that of ILO and OECD.

¤¤Less than 0.05%.

while construction employment continued to rise, spurredby infrastructure and public housing policies.

Although service employment rose marginally from60.7% in 1980 to 62.2% in 1990, it was below its peakof 70.2% in 1957. While this might be interpreted asthe sector’s employment not having risen in tandem witheconomic advancement or re� ecting the transition to apostindustria l society, this is not the case in Singapore.Urbanized Singapore has always been characterized by asmall primary sector and a large service sector, even be-fore the launching of major industrializatio n programs inthe 1960s. In Singapore, the � uctuation more probably re-� ects the labor-saving impact of information technology,just as automation and mechanization improved produc-tivity in the manufacturing sector, even if this cannot beempirically documented.

Employment in transportation and communication wasabout halved from 20.7% in 1921 to 10.7% by 1957 andcontinued to decline to 9.5% in 1990 (Table 1). Whileemployment in the trade and commerce sector remainedrather stable at 22.0% in 1990 compared to 22.3% in1931, the most spectacular growth was in � nance and busi-ness employment, which shot up from 4.0% in 1980 to10.9% in 1990. The Asian Dollar Market, which heralded

the promotion of the international � nancial center, wasestablished with � scal and other incentives in 1968. Sincethen, � nancial-sector growth has boosted the service sectortremendously.

Distribution of Workers by Occupation

Statistics on the changes in the occupational structure, asshown in Table 2, reveal more clearly the pattern and ex-tent of industria l restructuring and diversi� cation. White-collar jobs (consisting of professional and technical, ad-ministrative, managerial and executive, clerical, and salesoccupations) increased signi� cantly from 41.5% in 1980to 51.2% in 1990. High-skilled professional and technicalworkers increased from 8.8% to 15.7%, and administra -tive, managerial, and executive jobs from 4.8% to 8.6%over the same period, in line with demand from growingmanufacturing and service sectors.

The professional and technical workers constituted thelargest occupational group by 1990, in accordance withBell’s (1973) expectations of a postindustria l society. Thedata in Singapore are also in line with the Organizationfor Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ob-servation that “highly educated workers as a percentage

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INFORMATION ECONOMY IN SINGAPORE 285

TABLE 2Employment by occupation, 1921–1990 (% of total labor force)

Occupation¤ 1921 1931 1947 1957 1970 1980 1990

White collarProfessional & technical 2:3 2:8 3:3 5:2 8:6 8:8 15:7Administrative, managerial 0:5 0:4 1:2 1:8 2:4 4:8 8:6

and executiveClerical 6:6 10:2 10 11:4 12:7 15:6 13:1Sales 18:0 20:9 17:1 18:2 15:8 12:3 13:8Subtotal 27:4 34:3 31:6 36:6 39:5 41:5 51:2

Blue collarProduction, transport, and 37 40:4 44:4 38:5 39:2 40:4 44:5

other manual workersService 13:6 13:6 15:2 15:1 13:6 10:4 ¤¤

Agricultural workers and � shermen 13:6 11:1 8:4 8 4:1 1:9 0:3Unclassi� able 8:5 0:7 0:7 1:9 3:5 5:8 4

Total % 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Total labor force 238:6 274:3 357:5 471:9 650:9 1007:1 1537

Sources: Computed from the Census of British Malaya, 1921, Table 133, pp. 248–253; the Census of BritishMalaya, 1931, Table 121, pp. 252–255; Malaya: A report on the 1947 Census of Population, Table 97, pp. 519–

524; 1957 Census of Population, Singapore, Table 87, pp. 220–233; Report on the 1970 Census of Population,Table 82, pp. 114–124; Census of Population 1980 Singapore Release No. 4, Economic Characteristics Table 50,pp. 92–99; and Census of Population 1990 Singapore Release No. 4, Economic Characteristics, Table 10, p. 14.

¤Classi� cation of occupational groups is based on the Singapore Standard Occupational Classi� cation (SSOC)1978. Data for 1921, 1931 and 1947 are estimates based on SSOC 1978.

¤¤Under sales and services for 1990.

of total employment are highest in the most technolog-ically progressive industries” (OECD, 1993). However,with tertiary graduates at only 6% of the labor force in1990, Singapore is still a laggard compared with otherOECD countries and even other newly industrializingeconomies (NIEs) (Kuo, 1994). The situation is expectedto improve rapidly with a policy to increase the number ofstudents at the polytechnic and university levels since theearly 1990s.

Likewise, expansion in blue-collar jobs (production,transport, and other manual work) from 38.5% in 1957 to44.5% in 1990, in contrast to the fall in agricultural work-ers and � shermen from 7.9% to 0.3% during the sameperiod, re� ects the industrializatio n effort. Agricultural-sector employment will probably remain at a negligiblelevel but not extinct as long as orchid and ornamental � shfarms exist. Clerical workers, meanwhile, after continuousgrowth reaching 15.8% in 1980, decreased in proportionto 13.1% in 1990, in line with of� ce automation.

From a technical angle, a substitution had occurred asexecutives and managers were enabled with direct accessto information, cutting down clerical and data input func-tions. This could not have occurred at a more opportunetime, as by 1980 Singapore had turned from being labor

abundant to having a labor de� cit. The tight labor situationwas compounded by an antinatal population policy, overand above the tendency for demographic growth to slowdown with universal education and enlarging job opportu-nity for women. In line with human resource developmentpolicies in education and training to utilize manpower ef-� ciently and attain a higher standard of living, the demandfor skilled and white-collar jobs rose concomitantly.

Table 2 also shows sales workers rising in moderateproportion from 12.3% in 1980 to 13.8% in 1990 but re-maining generally low compared to earlier years of eco-nomic development. It should be noted that in the 1990census, service personnel were included in the sales cat-egory and not listed as a separate category as in previouscensuses. It is obvious that both sales and service workersremain relatively low in number in a city-state economythat unfortunately cannot lavish on service in quantitativeterms but focuses on quality and productivity dimensionsinstead.

Distribution of Information Workers

The growth in the information economy and the emer-gence of an information society, which are central in the

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286 E. C. Y. KUO AND L. LOW

TABLE 3Information workers 1947–1990 (% of total labor force)

1947–90average

1947 1957 1970 1980 1990 annual change

Information producersNumber 20;538 25;152 44;305 87;703 324;130 6.4% of work force 5:7 5:2 6:8 8:1 21:9

Information processorsNumber 37;301 56;247 99;030 217;825 345;465 5.2% of work force 10:4 11:7 15:2 20:2 22:5

Information distributorsNumber 4631 11;355 27;060 33;673 38;697 4.9% of work force 1:3 2:4 4:2 3:1 2:5

Information infrastructureNumber 3921 8244 11;926 37;711 110;950 7.8% of work force 1:1 1:7 1:8 2:6 7:2

Total information workersNumber 66;391 100;998 182;321 366;912 819;242 5.8% of work force 18:6 21 28 34:1 53:3

Total labor force (’000) 375:2 480:3 650:9 1077:1 1537 3.3

Sources: Computed from Malaya: A report on the 1947 Census of Population, Table 97, pp. 519–524; 1957 Censusof Population, Singapore, Table 87, pp. 220–233; Report on the 1970 Census of Population, Table 82, pp. 114–124;Census of Population 1980 Singapore Release No. 4, Economic Characteristics Table 50, pp. 92–99; and Census ofPopulation 1990 Singapore Release No. 4, Economic Characteristics, Tables 42 and 43, pp. 142–152.

present study, are measured by the percentage of informa-tion workers in the total labor force. Following the def-initions and classi� cation by the OECD (1981, pp. 122–

124), Table 3 presents the statistics on the informationlabor force compiled from the past � ve population cen-suses since 1947. The statistics are further broken downinto four categories of information workers: (1) informa-tion producers, (2) information processors, (3) informationdistributors , and (4) information infrastructure workers.

As a clear sign of the trend of informatization, the pro-portion of information workers in Singapore increasedsteadily from 18.6% of total labor force in 1947, to 21%in 1957, 28% in 1970 to, 34.1% in 1980, to 53.3% in 1990(Table 3). The sharp increases since 1970 signaled the take-off of an emergent information society. Signi� cantly, overhalf of the total labor force now is engaged in informationoccupations, an indication of the advance of informationeconomy in Singapore.

Among the four types of information workers, the num-ber of information processors remained the largest at22.5% of the total labor force, with a marginal growthfrom 20.2% in 1980. This category comprises two majorgroups: administrative and managerial, which rose, andsupervisory and clerical, which fell. That the net was stillan increase re� ects a further deepening of skills among the

growing numbers of administrative and managerial infor-mation workers. However, indications are that the share ofinformation producers has reached a stable level and thatthe growth, if any, will continue to be marginal.

The second largest category is information producers,which increased signi� cantly from a mere 8.1% in 1980to 21.9% in 1990, reaching a level almost equal to that ofinformation processors. A closer analysis shows that theincrease in the proportion of information workers in thelabor force in general between 1980 and 1990 was mostlydue to the growth in the number of information producers.Their rapid growth arose mainly from the demand for tech-nical workers (mainly engineers) and consultative servicepersonnel (especially medical service workers). Since theproduction of information is fundamental to the growthand strength of an information society, the increase in theshare of information producers is a healthy sign. It can beprojected this will continue to be the growth category andwill overtake the share of information processors in duecourse.

Information distributors as a category, consisting al-most exclusively of people in the educational services, re-mains the smallest of the four, consisting of only 2.5% ofthe total labor force. While the number of educational per-sonnel increased from 33,673 in 1980 to 38,697 in 1990,

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INFORMATION ECONOMY IN SINGAPORE 287

TABLE 4Information producers 1921–1990, selected categories (numbers)

1921 1931 1947 1957 1970 1980 1990

Architects, engineers & surveyors 486 693 763 1401 4307 7827 15,816Physical & engineering science technicians

¼ ¼ ¼

2095 5687 26,007 47,026Finance & sales 962 1445 18,161 3499 4609 10,702 32,237Health associates 33 147 222 14,223Health professionals

¼

717

¼

962

¼

265 985 1223 1760 4000Accountants 99 42 172 561 1841 3609 4869Legal professionals 52 71 113 184 392 1032 2291Computing professionals * * * * 53 543 8508Writers & creative or performing artists 1341 1252 1489 2050 2863 4075 5428

Source: Same as Table 3.Note: ¤Figure is not available as the occupational category is not used in the census of the year.

the percentage share declined. More is said of this categorylater.

Consistent with the policy of infrastructure develop-ment in recent decades, the percentage of information in-frastructure workers also rose from 2.6% in 1989 to 7.2%in 1990, overtaking the share of information distributors . Alarge share of information infrastructure workers had comefrom labor-intensive jobs such as machine mechanics and� tters. The advent of automation has generated a higherdemand for machine � xture and maintenance workers.

To provide more detailed data for an in-depth analysis,the numbers of information producers under various occu-pational categories are presented in Table 4. Note that therehad been signi� cant and continuous increases over the pe-riod since 1921 for the following two categories of work-ers: “architects, engineers, and surveyors,” and “physicaland engineering science technicians.” There is no doubtthat the quantum increase in labor force in these techni-cal and engineering � elds, from less than 2500 in 1957 to10,000 in 1970 and then to over 62,000 in 1990, provides

TABLE 5Information processors, 1921–1990, selected categories (numbers)

1921 1931 1947 1957 1970 1980 1990

General managers 18,794 9247Specialized managers

¼

16,947

¼

16,511

¼

18,394

¼

21,580

¼

14,024 19,775 45,656Government associate 1749 1951 4208 6035 10,827 14,855 5804

professionalsSecretaries & keyboard 4772 10,009 20,329 29,063

operating clerksAdministrative clerks

9>>=

>>;10,481

9>>=

>>;19,293

9>>=

>>;28,353 17,454 26,523 43,812 66,836

Accounting & � nance clerks 11,353 15,473 42,402 36,744

Source: Same as Table 3.

the answer to Singapore’s success story in industrializatio nand economic development. Given its continuous empha-sis in engineering and technical education at the tertiarylevel, these will continue to be the occupations taking upa greater share in the information workforce. The growthof numbers in the professions such as accountants and le-gal professionals was more moderate. The increase in thenumber of health associates and professionals , on the otherhand, was more accentuated, with improvement in healthcare and the demographic aging of Singapore hitting newpeaks by the 1990s and beyond. Finally, computing pro-fessionals, as mentioned earlier, � rst appeared in the 1970census, registering only 53 of them, and increased to 8508in 1990, indicative of the trend of information technol-ogy development as well as the success of the NationalIT Plan.

Under information processors, the largest category isclerks and secretaries of various types (see Table 5).Growth was consistent, and there was no indication thatof� ce automation had resulted in an overall decrease in

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the need for secretarial and clerical services as a result of“deskilling.” It would be interesting to observe if the trendwill be reversed at a certain point. Second to “clerks,”“managers” is another major subcategory of informationprocessors. The 1980 census divided “managers” into twosubgroups: general managers and specialized managers.Comparison between the 1980 and 1990 census data showsa sharp increase of the latter, from 19,775 to 45,656, ac-companied by a simultaneous but smaller reduction of“general managers,” from 18,794 to 9247 (Table 5). Man-agers may have become more skilled and specialized overtime. This re� ects a greater division of labor wherebyan organization is divided into various departments, eachheaded by a “specialized” manager. With current industrialand corporate restructuring due to technology and othernew economics prompting reengineering and downsizing,the degree of specialization may not disappear altogether,but it could grow at a reduced rate. The debate is yet un-settled and beyond the scope of the present article (see, forinstance, Castells, 1996).

Another subcategory under information processors is“government associated professionals .” The majority inthis group was police personnel, which experienced asteady growth since 1921, and high growth in 1970 and1980 (Table 5). A sharp decline registered in 1990 wouldre� ect the plateau of growth of such personnel, comp-ounded by the policy of privatization and devolution ofmany activities in the public sector. This emphasis wasto make the private sector the engine of growth after therecession in 1985.

Teachers as information distributors increased between1920 and 1990 (Table 6). University, polytechnic, andhigher education professionals in particular increased from153 in 1957 (when the catagory was � rst reported sepa-rately) to 3194 in 1990. In recent years, a lower quantumincrease of teachers, especially those below the tertiarylevel, can be accounted for by smaller student cohorts due

TABLE 6Information distributor s 1921–1990, selected categories (numbers)

1921 1931 1947 1957 1970 1980 1990

University, polytechnic, 153 594 1120 3194higher education professionals

Pre-university & secondary 593 9740 11,306Special education 65 154 277Primary & pre-primary 984 1890 3142 9522 20,320 12,767 13,467Other teaching associate

9>=

>;

9>=

>;

9>=

>;

9>=

>;929 2716 3146

professionals

Source: Same as in Table 3.Note: For the census years 1921, 1931, 1947 and 1957, all teaching occupations were under one category “Teachers.”

to declining birth rate. To some extent, this was compen-sated for by growth (albeit much smaller in number) in ter-tiary education. Upgrading the quality of education at alllevels, as a human resource development-led strategy foreconomic growth, also meant smaller student-to-teache rratios. More teaching occupations are also speci� ed inlater population census data, indicating the sophisticationof the profession to meet extracurricular activities like mu-sic, ballet, and computer courses and special needs, suchas for disabled and educationally subnormal children.

The category of “other teaching associate profession-als” refers to private tutors, relief teachers, and others.These grew from 929 in 1970 to 2726 in 1980, re� ectiveof the importance parents place on private tuition outside offormal schooling hours. Meanwhile, the demand has alsocreated instability of teaching staff in schools. Inevitably,some full-time teachers, in particular female teachers withfamilies to raise, may turn part-time with rising demandand remuneration. The education service is highly female-intensive, especially in a time when the tight labor marketis luring male teachers away from the profession.

In the category of information infrastructure workers(Table 7), a sharp decline in printing and related tradesbetween 1980 and 1990 coincided with a simultaneousrise for printing, binding, and paper product machine op-erators. Labor-intensive printing and publishing jobs havegiven way to machine and automated processes, hencethe rise in demand for such technical staff. On the otherhand, machine mechanics and � tters began to decline since1980. A slight decrease in computer equipment operatorswas offset by an increase in computer professionals.

Within this category, the number of mail distributionclerks declined substantially from 8772 in 1980 to 2080 in1990. In part, this was due to of� ce automation/machine-intensive methods; but substitution for traditional postalservices by faster and more ef� cient telephones, facsi-mile, and other telecommunication services cannot be

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TABLE 7Information infrastructure 1921–1990, selected categories (numbers)

1921 1931 1947 1957 1970 1980 1990

Printing & related 719 906 603 2592 3659 6639 2848Printing, binding & paper 117 321 1647 1133 3653 3646 10,598

products machine operatorsMachinery mechanics & � tters 3198 5906 7240 15,602 19,314 35,020 33,449Computer equipment operators * * * 187 460 2371 2262Mail distribution clerks 195 303 387 910 1227 8772 2080Optical & electronic equipment 171 266 596 1029 1138 1487 2543

operatorsElectrical & electronic instrument 339 1303 3924 6850 11,341 18,790 20,169

mechanics & � tters

Source: Same as Table 3.Note: ¤Figure is not available as the occupational category is not used in the census of the year.

discounted. A different way of business and personal com-munication had certainly come about by 1990 as comput-erization and electronic mail initiated at the public-sectorlevel gained momentum. Prior to 1980, these workers inlabor-intensive jobs in the postal and telecommunicationcategory were labeled as “postmen and post of� ce sorters,”and their number has risen from a mere 387 in 1947.

Manpower Demand and Projectionsin an Information Economy

In all, information workers took up 53.3% of the total la-bor force in 1990, con� rming the rising importance of theinformation industry. With a growing information econ-omy, the trend of continuous growth in information jobscan be predicted. This percentage of information workersin the total labor force in Singapore is comparable to thosein many developed economies (Kuo & Chen, 1987).

In 1993, Singapore launched its regionalization strat-egy, encouraging Singapore companies and workers totake advantage of the Asia Paci� c boom and to move out-ward to leverage regional and global resources. Given therelative short time since its launching, the impact of thispolicy on the employment and occupational structure is noteasy to ascertain. There is a paucity of data collected onsuch companies and individuals going abroad, especiallyfor employment and skill levels.

However, in line with policy aspirations, as the Singa-pore economy becomes more brain and knowledge inten-sive, the labor composition should bear out correspondingtrends by the next population census in year 2000.3 Asa “virtual state,” which magni� es the aggregate of vir-tual corporations, leading enterprises mastermind or co-ordinate technocratic, professional, managerial, and otherskill-intensive activities through overseas headquarters and

other setups in Singapore. The information society will betaken to a new height as the regionalization policy takesshape.

To reinforce the status of Singapore as an emergent in-formation society, the number of high-level informationworkers is still on the rise. While gross expenditure onR&D (GERD) has yet to reach its target of 2% by 1995,the target of 40 research scientists and engineers to 10,000labor force members was attained by 1993 (Singapore Na-tional Science and Technology Board, 1995). The � gurewas 41.0 in 1994. However, by international comparisons,Singapore still has a long way to go (see Table 8).

The projections in the second National Science andTechnology Plan launched in 1996 will see the govern-ment pumping in S$4 billion until 2000. This representstwice the amount allocated in 1991 and will be 1.6%of the gross national output. It seems to be a downward

TABLE 8GERD/GDP ratio and RSE (research scientists and

engineers) per 10,000 labor force, by selected countries

GERD/GDP RSE/10,000 GERD/RSEYear labor force US$ ’000

Japan 1992 2.72 80.72 194.63US 1993 2.65 74.33 172.27Switzerland 1992 2.51 69.89 249.3Germany 1993 2.48 62.25 154.75South Korea 1993 2.33 52.26 77.1UK 1993 2.18 49.52 147.49Taiwan 1992 1.82 55.58 76.99Singapore 1993 1.08 40.54 93.2

Source: Singapore, National Science and Technology Board, 1995.

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revision from the more ambitious 2% target set out in the� rst NTP (Singapore National Science and TechnologyBoard, 1993). The number of research scientists and en-gineers (RSEs) is targeted at 65 per 10,000 population.Twelve to 15 more research laboratories will be set upin the two local universities. The economy has reached amore mature high-technology stage, and a strong indige-nous base has also begun to bear fruit. A key thrust in thesecond plan lies in manpower development, where another10,000 engineers and 5,000 researchers are projected onthe demand side. The private sector is encouraged to be inthe lead.

But a shortage of skilled and professional manpower,especially engineers and technicians, is exacerbated by thetight labor situation, which encourages disturbing turn-overs (Wong, 1995, pp. 62–92). Foreign expertise is al-ready being tapped, but there is both a drying up and com-petition effect as regional countries like Malaysia developa “multimedia supercorridor.”4 Thus, more than any otherfactors, the shortage in talented manpower will be a realconstraint in Singapore’s next phase of economic growth.The government has since initiated an open door to attractforeign talents into Singapore.

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN AN EMERGENTINFORMATION SOCIETY

Information technology can potentially revolutionize pro-duction processes, industria l structures, competitive ad-vantage, and exchange in the knowledge and informationeconomy. Unlike the previous waves of industrial revo-lution, geography and natural resources are no longer thedriving forces. Information technology and knowledge arenot that dif� cult to acquire if a government musters acertain amount of willpower and determination that canformulate and create the right policy environment.The element of leapfrogging is even more intense in ser-vices than in manufacturing. There may be more late-comer advantages, as information technology is everchanging.

While what is high technology is not easily or readilyde� ned, the electronics and information technology clus-ter is commonly identi� ed as such (Breheny & McQuaid,1987). Apart from educated and skilled manpower, Singa-pore has its cumulative strength in service-related activ-ities. Information technology is already widely diffusedin other services including � nance and banking, profes-sional services as in engineering, legal, accounting, andmedical services, telecommunication and media services,and travel services. The cluster approach obviously op-timizes Singapore’s scarce resources to provide certainconcentration and critical mass effects. It implies that theoccupational structure will be increasingly skewed towardinformation workers to support these services.

Related to occupational composition and structure arealso the shortage of talents and competition for foreignworkers. The challenge in making Singapore a more lu-crative and interesting place for brain and knowledge in-dustries is manyfold. Apart from retaining and augment-ing its skilled manpower base, if R&D is to succeed, oneclear policy is the protection of intellectual property rights.Singapore’s copyright legislation and system of patentswould affect MNCs’ decisions to distribute more R&Dfunctions to their subsidiaries here. While intellectualproperty rights are themselves getting more dif� cult andelusive to protect, a clear legal framework is de� nitelyrequired.

The issue of Singapore’s small size as a factor in itsfuture development as a knowledge and information econ-omy is double edged. On one hand, it lacks the critical massin the labor and talent pool. On the other, if competitiveadvantage can be acquired by the right policy environmentand government direction, this is not a problem. There isinstead the advantage of ease in administration and nim-bleness to be � exible and adaptive.

In fact, the partnership with the private sector extendingto tripartism involving government, business, and labor isa proven record that ensures support and cooperation fromall parties once a development strategy is identi� ed. Inparticular, the tripartite spirit for skills upgrading and re-training is entrenched under the Skills Development Fund(SDF) and programs run by the National Trades UnionCongress (NTUC) and Productivity and Standards Board(PSB).

From a theoretical and academic view, the question ofthe optimal level of government-directed orchestration ineconomic strategy is also reexamined in the light of gov-ernment intervention in R&D. High-technology industriesand R&D have externalities that call for government sup-port. Apart from the need for high investment, the securityaspects of high technology industries are often raised. Be-cause microelectronics is the basic resource that is pow-ering growth and development in the age of informationand knowledge industries, the government’s help to se-cure intellectual property rights is vital. A related issue iswhether a competition or complementary strategy shouldbe forged with emerging and existing information hubs.For instance, collaboration with Malaysia and Hong Kongin networking would require government-to-governmen tcollaboration.

Other issues, which are more like questions seeking an-swers, include the need to identify the niche areas in theemerging knowledge and information economy that canbest suit Singapore’s endowment and specialities. As de-mographic growth slows down and the labor force ages,further challenges of employment creation (quantity ) ver-sus skill intensity and reskilling (quality) arise. Employ-ability rather than employment becomes more critical as

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technology changes quickly. Retraining of an older work-force who may not be as well educated and computer lit-erate poses a further challenge. The need to cultivate morequalitative attributes (such as creativity, originality, and in-novative thinking) in the education system, as a contrast tothe rigid, rote approach, requires a massive mindset changeat all levels of society.

The knowledge economy is turning social values of theindustrial society on its head. One signi� cant implicationis that it would mean more freedom for the general pub-lic, as information can no longer be effectively regulatedor contained. In the knowledge society, the new ethic iscooperation, not repression or competition. Participationbecomes the modus vivendi as the means and ability ofdoing so increase. At the family level, the roles of genderare changing because equal and universal acquisition ofeducation (between males and females) leads to power ofinformation and knowledge. Meanwhile, new knowledgealso gives rise to new organizational hierarchy. The gapmay widen between those able to deal with the knowledgeexplosion and those who only marginally can.

Why Singapore should aspire to be a knowledge econ-omy and an information society is beyond question, asthese are the new immutable waves of the future (Wong,1992; Low & Kuo, 1999). Applying educational quali� ca-tions and occupational structure as indicators of the level ofinformatization, it appears that Singapore has made somesigni� cant progress and is reaching a threshold. However,much more still has to be done to catch up with the OECDstandards. There are promises and problems. But for asmall, nimble economy, Singapore has many factors inits favor to reach the stage of a full-� edged informationsociety.

CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Using population census data since 1921, changes in em-ployment and occupational structure have been found to bein tandem and supportive of industria l changes inSingapore. The industria l restructuring and diversi� cationin a small city-state have been fairly rapid and frequentas the economy moved from traditional entrepot activitiesto modern manufacturing and services in the past threedecades.

As knowledge and information industries grew, a de-cline in blue-collar jobs and a concomitant growth in theproportion of professional, technical, administrative , man-agerial, and generally skilled workers was observed. Whenthe regionalization program deepens and Singapore be-comes more and more a brains center or a virtual state,and furthermore, when only high-end manufacturing andservices will reside in Singapore as overseas headquarters,another round of employment and occupational changeswould be expected.

More R&D activities would mean more research sci-entists and engineers (RSEs) and related workers. Thisis a new area in Singapore, but a necessary occupationalattainment in line with the development of informationsociety and knowledge economy. But as R&D requires aspecial culture and time frame for RSEs to understand theindustry and its needs better, this is a huge challenge forthe government. Moreover, R&D thrives in an environ-ment of constant change, dynamism, and the unknown. Arigid education and working environment cannot nurturethe necessary creativity, innovativeness , and boldness ofvision that are the leitmotif of R&D work. This challengefor a change in the mindset, and indeed a paradigm shift,must permeate throughout the society to teachers, parents,employers, and their charges, being students, children, andemployees, respectively. Futuristic thinking, strategizing,and taking opportunitie s constitute a new cult, which Sin-gaporeans may � nd dif� cult to cultivate and practice.

Hence, the employment and occupational structure isfar from having stabilized. One more wave of changes tohave more information producers (and certainly innova-tors) and distributors has to take place in the next coupleof decades. The momentum has started, and competitionfrom regional countries similarly aspiring to be informa-tion and knowledge economies is likely to quicken thepace. All will have to compete for the right talents andmanpower to support an information economy. Be that asit may, complement rather than competition in the region isdesirable. The knowledge economy and information soci-ety create interdependence and networks in both hard andsoft infrastructure. A “win–win” strategy needs to be de-veloped, with goodwill and collaboration among countriesin the region.

The policy areas in the next century are, however, notnecessarily very different from what Singapore has beendoing so far. From an intelligent island to a global infor-mation city is not quite a quantum leap. It is fortunate thatthe foundation and basic policies have been in place forquite some time. Longer term changes in education and themindset have also been foreseen, although the evolutionof human traits and attitudina l changes may require moretime. Nonetheless, Singapore has quite a head start overother countries. Moreover, to be adaptive to changes con-stantly is already built into the opportunisti c philosophyof the small city-state. The emergent information societywill graduate into full status when Singapore itself attainsdeveloped country status in the next century.

NOTES

1. Only a brief literature survey on information economy and societyis presented here, as a fuller theoretical discussion is outside the scopeof this article. Please refer to Webster (1995) and evolutionary workslike those of DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach (1989).

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292 E. C. Y. KUO AND L. LOW

2. Information industries as distinguished from knowledge indus-tries mark the attainment of an information-led type of industrial struc-ture as the � rst stage of change in the economic structure.

3. The speci� c policies with respect to promoting a knowledge-based economy are spelt out in the Committee on Singapore’s Com-petitiveness (CSC) Report (Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry,1998), they cover all aspects ranging from education, manpower andskills to � nancial and conducive environments.

4. According to the Global Competitiveness Report for 1998,Singapore is ranked in the � rst position in terms of the use of IT bymanagers, with Hong Kong ranked 10th and Malaysia 32nd. (Swedenwas second and the United States number 7.) Singapore, however,cannot afford to be complacent as Malaysia is all out in terms ofits policies on education, foreign investment, and foreign expertiseto spur its multimedia supercorridor ahead. Malaysia is changing itscyberlaws, and its bright ideas are only impeded by dif� culties inimplementation.

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