Kiasunomics© : stories of Singaporean economic behaviours / /Sumit Agarwal, Ang Swee Hoon, Sing Tien Foo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Agarwal, Sumit, 1970- author.

Ang, Swee Hoon, author.

Sing, Tien Foo, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economics--Psychological aspects--Case studies.

Economics.

Consumer behavior--Singapore.

Consumer behavior.

Economics--Psychological aspects.

Singapore.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xx, 267 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Other Title:

Stories of Singaporean economic behaviours

Place of Publication:

Singapore : World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., [2018]

Summary:

Have you ever wondered whether individuals born in the year of the Dragon are truly blessed? Or why you can't find a taxi when you need one? What about the effects of superstitious beliefs on housing prices? Kiasunomics© explores these issues and more in a series of stories through the lens of Teng, the protagonist of this book. Told in a conversational story-telling style yet grounded on rigorous research, the book explains the influences and outcomes of the decisions we make, using simple economic logic. The book follows the life journey of Teng - from birth to adulthood - and examines how seemingly innocuous decisions bear economic consequences on his life. It starts with the decision by Teng's parents to have him as a Dragon baby and shows how this decision affects not only his education but also his career and spending in the long term. The grown-up Teng in later chapters, is a taxi driver who learns that the daily budgeting of finances from many of his taxi-driving friends has proven to be poor financial planning. The story also shows how his purchase of a flat based on superstitious beliefs, and its location near a primary school and a Mass Rapid Transit station influences prices, and with some surprising results. This book touches the man on the street with issues that many Singaporeans can identify with. These include how Singaporeans' shopping in Johor affects their spending and savings; how different shoppers respond variedly to predictable promotions such as the Great Singapore Sale; how the haze or a mere nearby construction site affects water and electricity consumption; how playing golf elevates women's opportunities to sit on corporate boards; how Singaporeans' travel patterns are affected by their opinion towards public transportation; and how retirement poses financial challenges in silver years. These and many more are unravelled in the 20 stand-alone chapters through the authors' application of their research findings to day-to-day issues. Kiasunomics© brings to light that research can be made relevant to our daily living. Research helps us make sense of what we do and with that, we can learn to make better decisions for a smarter thinking nation. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Dragon Babies, There Are So Many of You 1

Chapter 2 Taxi Driver, Where Are You? 17

Chapter 3 New Wife, New Life 35

Chapter 4 To Johor, to Johor, to Buy That Nice Dress 49

Chapter 5 Gentlemen, Start Your Engines 61

Chapter 6 Ladies, Ready, Get Set, Shop 71

Chapter 7 Muthu, Don't Be Reckless 79

Chapter 8 Mind Your 4s and 8s 89

Chapter 9 Circling Up 109

Chapter 10 Tolls and Trolls 115

Chapter 11 New House, New Friends 127

Chapter 12 Lady, Do You Want to Tee off? 139

Chapter 13 Papa, Don't Forget to Switch off the Lights 149

Chapter 14 Mama, Don't Forget to Switch on the Air-con 167

Chapter 15 Boy Boy, Go to a Good School 177

Chapter 16 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes 187

Chapter 17 Girl, Shower Faster, Save Water 207

Chapter 18 Auntie, We Paint Your Flat 223

Chapter 19 Vegetable Seller, Why So Expensive? 231

Chapter 20 Teng, Are You Grown Up? 253.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9789813234536

9813234539

9789813233362

9813233362

OCLC:

1020254436