ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION AND POLICY CHOICES - SINGAPORE

This article analyzes the effects of economic globalization on public policy in Singapore, which has the would's most globalized economy. It finds that contrary to the assumption of much of the literature on th e subject, it is the state, rather than systemic imperatives, that has played the most decisive role in shaping the form and scope of the ec onomy's globalization. Its examination of the effects of globalization on policy choices in three broad areas - economic development, nation al security, and social development - in Singapore shows that globaliz ation has not only constrained policy choices, but expanded them as we ll. The case study suggests that we need to ascribe greater centrality to the agency of the state in the globalization process and develop a more nuanced conception of the opportunities it affords and the const raints it imposes.