Singapore's government took unprecedented actions to shield its economy from the 2008 financial crisis, even tapping its foreign-exchange reserves for the first time in its history. Yet GDP still fell 10% from peak to trough. The experience unfortunately seems to have reinforced policy makers' conviction that government needs to play a bigger role in the economy.That's the message from the budget announced by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam last week. The government aims to double the city-state's productivity growth rate over the next decade; support the creation of more globally competitive companies; and ensure the economic growth trickles down to the needy. Full Story
