Izabela Ostoj

University of Economics in Katowice

Poland

izabela.ostoj@ue.katowice.pl

The institutional sphere of the labour market of

a highly competitive economy – the case of Singapore

ABSTRACT. For years Singapore has ranked at the top the global competitiveness rankings and labour market efficiency rankings developed by the World Economic Forum. The paper aims to present Singapore’s labour market institutional infrastructure and identify the underlying reasons for the good situation in its labour market. It discusses the assumption that the high efficiency of Singapore’s labour market, contributing to the country’s global competitiveness, stems from a specific approach to labour market institutions, which involves using the alternative labour market regulation mechanisms, such as the promotion of good practices, to increase relatively low work standards. Based on the breakdown of labour market institutions into formal and informal, the theoretical interpretation of the analysed mechanisms is presented. The conclusion indicates the direction for further research on labour market institutions in other Southeast Asian countries. Even though the labour market model in Singapore as such does not seem to be suitable for European economies, it is still a useful reference while shaping their labour markets.

Received: February, 2015

1st Revision: April, 2015

Accepted: May, 2015

DOI: 10.14254/2071-

8330.2015/8-1/14

JEL Classification: J400, J530, K310

Keywords: : Singapore, labour market, competitiveness of an economy, formal and informal institutions