Kiasunomics© (ePub)

-->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. -->Contents: AcknowledgementsNote from the AuthorsList of AcronymsGlossary of Singlish TermsIntroductionDragon Baby, There Are So Many of YouTaxi Driver, Where Are You?New Wife, New LifeTo Johor, to Johor, to Buy That Nice DressGentlemen, Start Your EnginesLadies, Ready, Get Set, ShopMuthu, Don't Be RecklessMind Your 4s and 8sCircling UpTolls and TrollsNew House, New FriendsLady, Do You Want to Tee off?Papa, Don't Forget to Switch off the LightsMama, Don't Forget to Switch on the Air-conBoy Boy, Go to a Good SchoolSmoke Gets in Your EyesGirl, Shower Faster, Save WaterAuntie, We Paint Your FlatVegetable Seller, Why So Expensive?Teng, Are You Grown Up?About the Authors --> -->Readership: General readers. -->Keywords:Kiasu;Singaporeans;Economic Behaviours;GST;RetirementReview:"Penned in an appealing, conversational style, Kiasunomics© provides deep insights into how we can make better decisions in a complex world, if we knew what research has found. It provokes readers to reflect and pose questions of their own. I'm delighted that research at National University of Singapore has created practical impact for the nation and beyond."Professor Tan Eng ChyeDeputy President (Academic Affairs) andProvost, National University of Singapore"I marvel at how the NUS professors can weave their research findings into a storybook. It's enlightening to see how much Economics can affect us. People will find this book interesting to read and benefit from their research."Dr William FungGroup Managing DirectorLi & Fung Group "Everyone interested in the value of big data can benefit from this book. The authors have been able to marry deep data analytics with empirical observations to come up with extremely interesting insights. In addition, the storytelling nature of the narrative makes it easy to follow and relate to. For non-Singaporeans, this is a ready primer of many behaviours that drive our country!"Mr Piyush GuptaChief Executive Officer and DirectorDBS Group "This book is a delight to read. Interestingly, it coincides with the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences awarded to one of the founding fathers of behavioural economics — an area of Economics adopted in this book. Kiasunomics© resonates with the broader impact of Singaporean behavioural traits, kiasuism being one. The authors cleverly tell a number of stories, drawing on the findings of their rigorous academic work, to illustrate the economic consequences of seemingly innocuous or irrational decisions made by individuals. They have chosen a narrative style which allows serious academic literature to appeal to a broader readership."Dr Seek Ngee HuatChairman, Institute of Real Estate Studies andPractice Professor, National University of Singapore;Chairman, Global Logistic Properties Ltd "Economics affects our daily lives profoundly. Yet, so few of us are aware of this. This book is a great gift to Singaporeans as it cleverly integrates research with storytelling to show the impact of Economics on our lives. I highly commend this very readable book to Singaporeans and others. You will have fun as you learn."Professor Kishore MahbubaniDean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and co-author of The ASEAN Miracle: A Catalyst for Peace Key Features:Contextualised to Singapore for local identification, but lends itself to readers from other countries that adopt similar Singaporean practices such as Electronic Road Pricing, GST, and Mass Rapid TransitBrings forth 'Economics Made Simple' to show the relevance of research to our daily lives and help readers understand EconomicsApplies Freakonomics' philosophy to the Singaporean context