Economics of Development: Country Singapore - Research Paper Example

In this study, I intend to evaluate the case of political economy of development in Singapore and examine the role of cold war tensions, the state and various economic institutions. In additions to examining this institution, I would also like to examine how these variables have contributed towards the attainment of favorable growth rates and economic prosperity. The rapid growth rates in Singapore can be attributed to the various economic and political factors such as the role of the state, extended cold wars between states and countries and effect of the international environment.

What we expect is that, at the end of an influential cold war there will be many changes in the international environment which may end leading to huge effects related to globalization in production. Singapore is a unique city state without a rural population (Shatkin, 2014). The implication is that it will be difficult to examine the relationship between secondary and primary sector or the difference in the situation between rural and urban sector, which are important prerequisites in the study of the performance of an economy.

The history of political economy of development in Singapore can be traced back in 1862 where at this time Singapore acted as an imperialist interest promoter as well as a distribution centre. During this time, the British had a lot of influence on international markets and therefore worked towards seeing to it that there was free flow of goods and that investment and international trade moved on smoothly. During this time, Singapore still showed some reliance on the West. This is evident since the country relied on the West’s entrepot trade and their strategic harbor.

The country used this link to unite with countries in South East Asia. The success of this project can also be attributed to the powers by the Europeans that promoted the supply of the required raw