Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Case Study Library
The Case Study Unit at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) produces case studies that cover a wide range of issues in public policy, administration and management with an Asian focus. These case studies typically focus on a central tension stemming from multiple interests and perspectives encountered by real-world policymakers, and use public policy frameworks to analyse present-day problems. This repository of over a hundred case studies, examining topics from Singapore’s social housing and Shanghai’s waste sorting system to the challenges of blockchain technology and big data, is a rich resource for public policy education and research, and is freely available through the LKYSPP Case Study Library.
Read on to find out some of the interesting cases –
Throughout the 20th century, debate persisted concerning the effects of technological progress on the jobs market. As recently as 2014, Pew Research surveyed 1896 economists and technology experts, of whom 48% believed that new technologies would create more jobs than they would eliminate in the next ten years, while 52% believed that they would not. If the effect of automation on overall employment remains uncertain, the fact that the nature of the jobs available is changing is indisputable.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can lead to productivity gains and economic development in developing countries. But creating a regulatory framework that both attracts foreign corporates and makes the most of their investments for domestic economic development is challenging. In 2015, Apple wanted to invest in the Indonesian market, but wasn’t willing to meet existing regulatory requirements. After two years of talks, Indonesia introduced a new and novel approach to local content requirements that has achieved a triple bottom line –benefits for the country and the company, while also seeing Apple act consistently with its most lofty corporate values. Under Indonesia’s new regulation, rather than manufacturing locally, Apple invested in three training academies across the archipelago to gain access to local consumer markets. These training Academies have developed Indonesian human capital and had spill-over benefits for the local education and technology sectors. While Apple pursued the academies to gain market access, it also benefits from the development of local apps that boost the attractiveness of the iPhone to Indonesian consumers. This case study will explore the use of local content requirements in Indonesia, how Apple has complied with Indonesian regulations, and the benefits of Apple’s training academies. The case study will consider the scalability and replicability of Indonesia’s approach.
Cambodia’s Lower Sesan II Dam has a rocky history. The ADB deemed it “undesirable” in 1999. Vietnam dropped out in 2007. It was disparaged as an environmental disaster and an abuse of human rights internationally. And yet the dam was officially completed in 2018 to much fanfare with help from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This case study asks: what factors made Cambodia decide to build this dam, despite global experts advising otherwise? Who was this dam built for, and what trade-offs were Cambodian policy makers willing to make for them? What are Cambodia's plans for mitigating the societal and environmental impact of the dam? Why was China willing to join in when no one else would? These questions are important for extrapolating this dam to the likely construction of future large infrastructure projects in the context of development in the Mekong Region and the increasing scale of the BRI.
We welcome the GPPN community to use the Case Study Library and to contact us with any feedback on the cases or ideas for collaboration on case writing and teaching (lkysppcase@nus.edu.sg).
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