Singapores Dual Economy

During the recession in 2009 it became clear that Singapore has a dual economy. The recession made "exports [plung] across the world and Singapore’s economy contracted by double-digits." Oddly enough, "shopping malls were still bustling with people, [and] expensive eateries still packed with customers." The explanation to this was Singapore's dual economy which consists of a local, small enterprises, sector and an international, multinational corporations, sector. When the world economy tanked, the international sector was pulled down with it; however the local sector was left close to untouched.

This dual economy is a bit different from the classic model of a dual economy of which South Africa is a good example. In Singapore "the 2 sectors does not fall within the class distinction of the have and the have-nots, ie. one where income and wealth inequality explains much of the difference between the two classes," and therefore one sector does not work as an extractive power over the other. The international sector "did not seem to boost the welfare of ordinary Singaporeans as much as the GDP growth numbers implied, and they are not hurting Singaporeans very much on the way down, either."