Public Policy and Ageing Society

Examining how Singapore has responded to one of the most pressing social challenges of our time, this book analyses one of the world’s fastest-ageing societies. The book provides an evidence-based account of how a small but highly developed state has built and adapted its policies for older adults over seven decades.

Covering key policy areas, the author traces how government approaches have evolved across six distinct historical periods, from a foundational self-reliance model to an increasingly distributed whole-of-society framework. A growing reliance on indirect policy tools such as employer incentives, tax relief, and public-private partnerships is contrasted with economies around the world. Based on a series of interviews across multiple generations, the book presents evidence of policy effectiveness for a national approach to ageing.

Concluding with a new framework for evaluating whether ageing policies genuinely meet older adults’ needs, this book provides a valuable reference for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking evidence-informed frameworks for designing and reforming ageing governance systems across diverse national contexts.