Manufacturing sector growth: A case study of Singapore

Abstract

This paper attempts to highlight some of the challenges faced by the Singaporean economy in general and the manufacturing sector in particular. Statistical analysis is used to demonstrate the role of human capital and foreign investment on manufacturing output for the period 1980–2004. The paper shows that a long-run relationship exists among the real manufacturing output per-unit of employment, real foreign investment per-unit of employment and real human capital per-unit of employment. The paper also provides time series forecasts for the growth rates of real output, productivity and investment in Singaporean manufacturing sector