Garon, S. (2012). EXPORTING THRIFT, OR THE MYTH OF “ASIAN VALUES”. In Beyond our means: Why America spends while the world saves. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Is the attribute of “frugality” a part of Asian’s cultural trait? Why is it that we see Asian being more thrifty as compared to other countries in the West?

In this book it brought up the possible reason that frugality is a part of a traditional virtues in Asia countries. It also brought up different countries as case study and Singapore was one of them.

I highlighted the points brought across in the book for references.

From Confucius to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the traditional Chinese culture presents many precious ideas and qualities . . . [including] the traditional virtues taught from generation to generation: long suffering and hard working, diligence and frugality in household management, and respecting teachers and valuing education.

• On the one hand, regimes have encouraged greater consumption to improve living standards and bolster their legitimacy. On the other, most Asian nations remain openly ambivalent about unfettered consumption for a variety of economic, social, political, and moral reasons.
• Asian similarly spoke of the need to “rationalize” consumption, refrain from wasting money on luxuries, and avoid “excessive consumption.”
• In Malaysia, there officials strive to maintain a delicate balance among ethnic groups, the state has worked hard to inculcate thrift and “positive spending habits” in the majority Malays to raise their living standards to those of wealthier minority groups.
• It comes as no surprise that states in East and Southeast Asia coupled drives to restrain spending with intrusive campaigns to boost household savings.
• Why do Asians save so much? Ask Asian leaders, and they’ll tell you thrift is a cultural trait deeply embedded in their traditions.
• Confucian philosophy, they elaborated, “hailed prudence and frugality, demanded sacrifice for future employment, and condemned parents who failed to provide for their offspring.

• The government of Singapore embarked on the vigorous promotion of “Confucian Ethics” in schools and society.
• As formulated by Singapore’s former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysia’s then prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, “thrift” figures prominently among the cardinal Asian virtues.
• In Asia, too, states and various groups energetically worked to inculcate habits of saving. They employed government-run savings institutions, launched savings campaigns, and mobilized schools, communities, and the media to encourage thrift.
• However the widespread “urge to save” in Asian economies has less to do with their shared “Asianness”, and may be more related to their common adoption of savings-promotion practices from other countries. Eg Japan

Singapore (case study)

• Singapore developed a unique approach that combines Japanese-style encouragement of voluntary saving with an elaborate system of compulsory saving – Central Provident Fund (CPF).
• The MOE’s civics and moral education curriculum teaches the value of thrift by highlighting traditional savings and folktales from each of the three cultures (Chinese, malays and Indians)
• Not until the late 1970s would LKY discover the virtues of Confucianism. As for Chinese culture’s putative thriftiness, Lee placed little faith in Singaporean workers as late as the 1970s. They “spend freely and save less,” he complained, “so it is necessary that we should enforce savings through CPF contributions.”
• In the realm of education, Singaporean school-children recently studied “The story of Japan’s Industrial Development,” from which they were expected to learn “about the qualities of the Japanese such as a thrifty people and positive work attitude.”
• Like Japanese and South Korean officials, Singaporean rulers have been wary of excessive consumption. Lee warned early on that the nation was “caught in the meshes of the consumer society.” Advertisements, he lamented, urged people to “buy what they do not really need, as finance companies and other mechanism encourage people to buy now and pay later. Concerned about rising consumer credit especially among the young, the government today strictly controls the issuance of personal loans and credit cards. The MOE recently redoubled its efforts at thrift education because “now, more than ever, we must arrest consumerism.”

Thoughts:

I believed the post world war situation made many countries took upon a more frugal systems politically and economically, especially in Japan, which affected and influenced the other asian countries. The case study brought up in the book highlighted government’s attempt at encouraging savings and i thought was a good reminder that  our Singaporeans CPF fund saving system that is still in place now.