Foreseeable: A Podcast Series by Global-is-Asian

Singapore Budget 2025 is a landmark one, coinciding with the year Singapore turns 60, and arriving ahead of the General Elections. This is also the first Budget under Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. But beyond the headline-grabbing incentives, does Budget 2025 truly create opportunities for all? The team at the Social Inclusion Project (SIP) host this podcast special. Moderated by SIP’s Nessa Swinn Yap, and led by SIP’s lead, Dr Ng Kok Hoe (Senior Research Fellow, NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy), they speak to guests Dr Stephanie Chok (Executive Director, Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME)), and Lim Jingzhou (Community Worker, Cassia Resettlement Team) to explore the Budget’s implications for lower-income groups, migrant workers, and caregivers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Denis Hew is Senior Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Prior to taking up his current appointment, he was director of the APEC Policy Support Unit, PSU, from 2011 to 2022. Dr Hew also spent two years in the Asian Development Bank, ADB in its Southeast Asia department, where he managed technical assistance programmes on regional cooperation and integration. Dr Denis Hew is Senior Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Prior to taking up his current appointment, he was director of the APEC Policy Support Unit, PSU, from 2011 to 2022. Dr Hew also spent two years in the Asian Development Bank, ADB in its Southeast Asia department, where he managed technical assistance programmes on regional cooperation and integration. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Assistant Professor Tan Soo Jie Sheng primarily uses micro econometrics techniques combined with economic modelling to conduct empirical research in the areas of environment, health, and development. Recently, he and his co-authors published an article titled, “Using Cost–Benefit Analyses to Identify Key Opportunities in Demand-Side Mitigation.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new book, Building Urban Resilience: Singapore's Policy Response to Covid-19 is one of the first few books to discuss the Covid-19 crisis as an urban phenomenon. Written by our guests—J.J. Woo who is a Senior Lecturer at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Debbie R. Loo, who is an architect by training with a background in professional practice, urban studies research, and teaching—the book takes a look at how pandemics have shaped urban planning for centuries, and how we can learn from the experience to improve our population centres in many different ways.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From booming GDP growth and low interest rates to raging inflation and a shrinking economy, most of us have a sense of how the macroeconomic ups and downs can affect our lives. But have you ever considered what it takes to keep an economy healthy? Our guest certainly has. Ramkishen S. Rajan is Yong Pung How Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He has been a Visiting Fellow at various regional research institutes, including the Asia Competitiveness Institute, the Institute of Policy Studies as well as the Asian Development Bank Institute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Urban environments, from infrastructure to green spaces, play a crucial role in shaping lifestyle choices, social dynamics, and overall quality of health. Tan Shin Bin is an Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP). She previously worked as an urban planner at Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, the government body tasked with guiding the physical development of Singapore in a sustainable manner. She joins us to discuss how urban environments impact health, as well as the opportunities and challenges faced when developing policies to promote healthier lifestyles within urban spaces.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an increasingly interconnected world, the advent of mobile banking has ushered in a transformative era. Access to mobile banking can have a profound impact on people in developing economies. The impact of mobile banking extends beyond individual lives – it ripples through entire communities, affecting aspects such as migration and inequality. Dr Saravana Ravindran, Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, studies challenges and potential policy solutions relating to migration, including mobile banking and digital financial services. He has conducted research into whether mobile technology can reduce inequality by modernising traditional ways to transfer money. He joins us to explore the socio-economic impact of mobile banking on communities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore is world-renowned for its urban planning. While it is enjoying the success of the good planning of the past, it finds itself in the middle of an important shift to be prepared for the environment of the future. To understand the challenges and opportunities, we speak with Dr Woo Jun Jie. Dr Woo is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, where he heads the Governance and Economy department. His work focuses on urban policy, economic development, and crisis management in Asia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.