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[h=1]ROY: THE PAP HAS CAUSED MANY SINGAPOREANS TO LIVE IN POVERTY[/h]
Post date:
27 Apr 2015 - 12:41pm
THE PAP HAS CAUSED 30% OF SINGAPOREANS TO LIVE IN POVERTY
From Yeoh Lam Keong's research:
"The Average Household Expenditure on Basic Needs (AHEBN) is a figure calculated by the DOS. This is a measure of minimum household expenditure on essential needs such as food, clothing, and shelter for a household in a one- or two-room HDB rental flat. The resulting figure is then multiplied by 1.25 to account for other household needs (e.g., transport, education). The most recent available AHEBN estimate, as of this writing, is from 2011, and calculated to be SGD 1,250 per month for a four-person household.
Yeoh Lam Keong, former chief economist of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (now known as GIC Private Limited), argues, based on internal reviews of the AHEBN measure, that the measure provides a conservative estimate of absolute poverty. According to him, the costs are not explicitly accounted for by the AHEBN measure, but are included in the multiplier of 1.25 (e.g., transport, education, medical costs). They tend not only to increase more quickly than the expenditures on food, clothing and shelter, but are also necessary for work, school and social activities. Take for instance the mobile phone: it is a very helpful item to have when seeking employment, but such an expenditure is only one of many for which the multiplier of 1.25 is meant to account. Furthermore, Yeoh points out that actual transport and medical costs are taken into account for similar measurements in countries such as Hong Kong and Canada, indicating that there are precedents for their inclusion.
He discusses other problems in Singapore’s AHEBN calculation. First, it does not take into account costs related to investments in human capital, in that there are no out-of-pocket education expenditures, or costs related to continuing education, training, and access to information and communication technologies. Such educational endeavors are necessary for minimal social mobility and so have a significant bearing on poverty. For example, if people lack the means to increase their levels of education, because they cannot afford the costs of education itself, or the related costs of transport, materials, etc., it is far more difficult to climb out of the poverty trap. Finally, by only including families in one- or two-room flats, the AHEBN calculation does not account for those families living in threeor four-room flats who are receiving social assistance. Overall, according to Yeoh, the AHEBN calculation likely accounts for only a fraction of those Singaporean families living in poverty.
Yeoh used the AHEBN range of SGD 1,250 to 1,500 per month, applied it to the 2011 DOS Key Household Characteristics and Household Income Trends 2011 report, and found that there were approximately 110,000 to 140,000 resident households that have great difficulty meeting basic needs.
According to Yeoh, if the AHEBN calculation were adjusted to include the costs of transport, education, health care, and the training necessary for social inclusion, it would likely reveal that the bottom 10 to 20 per cent of working households are struggling to make ends meet in a way that could be defined as a form of absolute poverty. The bottom 20 to 30 per cent of working households, according to Yeoh, are probably barely able to meet basic consumption and human capital investment needs but have little in the way of retirement savings, leaving them vulnerable to falling into poverty in their lifetime."Yeoh Lam Keong
SAY NO TO PAP
http://centres.smu.edu.sg/lien/rese...-poverty-and-unmet-social-needs-in-singapore/
Roy Ngerng
*Article first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152908777964141&set=a.10150091...
Post date:
27 Apr 2015 - 12:41pm
THE PAP HAS CAUSED 30% OF SINGAPOREANS TO LIVE IN POVERTY
From Yeoh Lam Keong's research:
"The Average Household Expenditure on Basic Needs (AHEBN) is a figure calculated by the DOS. This is a measure of minimum household expenditure on essential needs such as food, clothing, and shelter for a household in a one- or two-room HDB rental flat. The resulting figure is then multiplied by 1.25 to account for other household needs (e.g., transport, education). The most recent available AHEBN estimate, as of this writing, is from 2011, and calculated to be SGD 1,250 per month for a four-person household.
Yeoh Lam Keong, former chief economist of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (now known as GIC Private Limited), argues, based on internal reviews of the AHEBN measure, that the measure provides a conservative estimate of absolute poverty. According to him, the costs are not explicitly accounted for by the AHEBN measure, but are included in the multiplier of 1.25 (e.g., transport, education, medical costs). They tend not only to increase more quickly than the expenditures on food, clothing and shelter, but are also necessary for work, school and social activities. Take for instance the mobile phone: it is a very helpful item to have when seeking employment, but such an expenditure is only one of many for which the multiplier of 1.25 is meant to account. Furthermore, Yeoh points out that actual transport and medical costs are taken into account for similar measurements in countries such as Hong Kong and Canada, indicating that there are precedents for their inclusion.
He discusses other problems in Singapore’s AHEBN calculation. First, it does not take into account costs related to investments in human capital, in that there are no out-of-pocket education expenditures, or costs related to continuing education, training, and access to information and communication technologies. Such educational endeavors are necessary for minimal social mobility and so have a significant bearing on poverty. For example, if people lack the means to increase their levels of education, because they cannot afford the costs of education itself, or the related costs of transport, materials, etc., it is far more difficult to climb out of the poverty trap. Finally, by only including families in one- or two-room flats, the AHEBN calculation does not account for those families living in threeor four-room flats who are receiving social assistance. Overall, according to Yeoh, the AHEBN calculation likely accounts for only a fraction of those Singaporean families living in poverty.
Yeoh used the AHEBN range of SGD 1,250 to 1,500 per month, applied it to the 2011 DOS Key Household Characteristics and Household Income Trends 2011 report, and found that there were approximately 110,000 to 140,000 resident households that have great difficulty meeting basic needs.
According to Yeoh, if the AHEBN calculation were adjusted to include the costs of transport, education, health care, and the training necessary for social inclusion, it would likely reveal that the bottom 10 to 20 per cent of working households are struggling to make ends meet in a way that could be defined as a form of absolute poverty. The bottom 20 to 30 per cent of working households, according to Yeoh, are probably barely able to meet basic consumption and human capital investment needs but have little in the way of retirement savings, leaving them vulnerable to falling into poverty in their lifetime."Yeoh Lam Keong
SAY NO TO PAP
http://centres.smu.edu.sg/lien/rese...-poverty-and-unmet-social-needs-in-singapore/
Roy Ngerng
*Article first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152908777964141&set=a.10150091...
