"Takings" and "givings" in Singapore: Land law and policy in the search for justice

• Main Author: PHANG, Rachel
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2023
• Subjects: Singapore; land law; housing policy; Henry George; Georgism; Asian Studies; Property Law and Real Estate; Public Policy
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4389; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/6347/viewcontent/51_FULJ_403_Takings_and_Givings_in_Singapore.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In the United States and globally, cities are increasingly plagued by deepening housing crisis and widening economic inequality. In the face of these crises, this Article focuses on the potentially powerful role for land law and policy in the search for justice. Specifically, it does so by reference to two unusual yet illuminating choices of theory and application: the case study of Singapore, and the school of thought of Georgism, both of which accord inordinate and paramount importance to land. Singapore’s land law and policy have been characterized by extensive takings and givings of land. In consequence, the State owns approximately 90% of Singapore’s land, and the home ownership rate for residential households stands at an exceptionally high 88.9%. I explicate three principal aspects of Singapore’s land law and policy, structured around the themes of takings, givings, and taxation of land. I then apply the analytical lens of Georgism, which originated with the 19th-century American political economist, Henry George. George placed land at the very heart of his theory. He identified land monopoly as the principal cause of inequality, and land policy as a fundamental "question of justice." This Article applies a Georgist lens to the interpretation, criticism, and justification of Singapore’s land law and policy. It argues that Singapore’s approach demonstrates how land law and policy can be powerfully employed to achieve the Georgist ideals of impeding private monopoly and mitigating economic inequality — demonstrating the role of land law and policy in the search for justice. At the same time, Singapore’s experience also speaks to the need for strong government accountability and other supplementary redistributive mechanisms, pointing toward the need for justice beyond land law and policy.