Can Singapore maintain its competitive edge in manufacturing labour productivity vis-à-vis China and Malaysia

This article investigates whether Singapore can maintain its competitive advantage in manufacturing from a labour productivity perspective vis-à-vis China and Malaysia, which are generally viewed as Singapore's competitors in manufacturing. We also investigate the extent to which China is closing the labour productivity gap with Singapore and Malaysia in technology-intensive segments of manufacturing. Our analysis reveals that China has the potential to develop a high labour-productivity and low-wage manufacturing sector. In terms of manufacturing labour productivity, China is moving towards convergence with Malaysia. Compared with Singapore, China's manufacturing labour productivity is still far behind, especially in key technology-intensive industries like electronics and chemicals, such that it is unlikely for China to catch up with Singapore within a decade. Reprinted by permission of Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.