Pursuing Growth and Managing the Environment: The Singapore Model

Since its independence, Singapore has faced a tradeoff between increasing economic growth and maintaining environmental quality. We qualitatively assess Singapore’s success in managing these tradeoffs. We present, illustrate and discuss seven strategies that have contributed to this, namely (I) Spearheading of Green Industrialization Efforts by the State; (II) Environmental Regulations; (III) Quantification of Economic Benefits from Going Green; (IV) Active Engagement of Stakeholders; (V) Use of Market Instruments; (VI) Use of Behavioral Interventions; (VII) Investment in Renewable and Clean Technologies. We also highlight some areas for improvement, as well as provide some insights on the thought processes behind certain policies and suggestions as to how these strategies can be refined where applicable.