Business Standard, 1 May 2013
As more money pours into Singapore, that divide - between locals sipping coffee at a street side Kopitiam and expats stepping out of glitzy sports cars for drink at some of Asia's most expensive bars - is only getting starker. The city-state's Gini coefficient - the most commonly used measure of inequality, with a higher number reflecting more disparity - was 0.478 in 2012, higher than that of China and India.
For the government, in turn, it is becoming an increasingly difficult balancing act. That tiny Singapore, which registers a mere 7.72 births per thousand, needs immigration is clear. Its population is ageing, and the local workforce cannot support the needs of a global financial centre. But bringing in more foreign talent to keep the economic engine going, as the February protests showed, has political ramifications. Full story
