Wirtschaftlicher Wandel und Computerisierung in Singapur. Die Rolle des 'starken' Staates im Prozeß ökonomischer Restrukturierung

Abstract The economic success of the Newly Industrializing Countries in the Asian- Pacific region has been a much discussed topic in recent years. Singapore’s economic development is just one good example of this ‘success story’. Here we deal with the role of strong governmental policies in the process of restructuring Singapore’s economy from an export processing platform for labour-intensive mass-production to a modem industrial economy and an advanced service-hub for the region. The dominant role of the state is the driving force behind Singapore’s transformation into an advanced ‘Information Society’. This article describes the implementation of several IT- plans by the government starting from the first ‘Strategic IT Plan’ in 1980 to the TT2000’ masterplan of the mid-1990’s to make Singapore an Intelligent Island for the next millennium. Problems resulting from these developmental policies are discussed in this context, especially those concerning the competitiveness of domestic enterprises and the continuous scarcity of local IT professionals.