Understanding and reducing NIMBY syndrome : a study on foreign worker dormitories in Singapore

• Main Authors: Goh, Joel Yong Ming, Norhaiza Basir Ahmad, Hoe, Kian Leong
• Other Authors: Quah Teong Ewe, Euston
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Economic theory
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/77081
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Currently, Singapore has managed to house the majority of its foreign worker population into farflung dormitories located in industrial areas. However, due to land constraints, continued reliance on foreign workers and efforts to be an inclusive society, there is a greater need to consider building Foreign Worker Dormitories (FWDs) closer to residential areas. This study explores the effects of demographic factors and sources of objection amongst Singaporeans with regards to accepting a FWD using the Probit/Logit model. Furthermore, we employed the compensation schedule via pairwise comparison to identify the most important mitigation and compensation methods on FWD acceptance. For the pairwise comparison method, the survey includes 10 pairs of choices where respondents indicate their preferences, and the results were analysed using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance W. Reasons to account for the findings were given, as well as policy recommendations: a) tighten approval criteria for operators, b) Greater scrutiny of track records and c) Change the existing law to also cover small scale dormitories.