What I would add is that the evidence from Singapore also shows that its stratified education set up has not resulted in high levels of social mobility or equality.
This paper by Irene Ng, Xiaoyi Shen and Kong Weng Ho from 2008 showed that Singapore has levels of social mobility similar to the United States (which, despite the “American dream”, is actually an immobile place compared to other higher income countries).
And the Gini co-efficient – the most widely used measure of a nation’s inequality – in Singapore is also high.
A Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality. This CIA World Fact Book table puts Signapore at 47.3 in 2011. By contrast, the most recent figures put the United States on 45 and Britain on 34.
So Singapore is a prosperous place with an education system that serves its brightest students very well. It is also a socially immobile and unequal state. Full story
Related:
Intergenerational Earnings Mobility in Singapore and the United States - Social Science Research Network
