Despite its size and lack of natural resources, Singapore's 5.6 million people enjoy

即使地方這麼小，又缺乏天然資源，新加坡的 560 萬人享有

one of the highest average incomes in the world, ahead of countries like Germany, France and Japan.

世界最高平均收入之一，領先德國、法國和日本等國。

So, how did this little island get so rich?

那麼，這小島怎為什麼如此富有？

Singapore doesn't have resources like coal or oil but it does have something countries can't buy, location.

新加坡沒有像煤炭或石油這樣的資源，但它確實有一點是其他國家買不到的：位置。

The island sits in the middle of an important trade route connecting Asia to Europe.

新加坡位於連接亞洲到歐洲，重要的貿易路線中間。

That's a key reason why the British decided, back in 1819, to set up a colony in Singapore.

這是英國人早在 1819 年決定在新加坡建立殖民地的關鍵原因。

Location isn't everything though.

然而，位置不是一切原因。

There are several countries nearby that could have made use of their whereabouts, but they weren't quite as successful.

附近有幾個國家可以善盡他們的位置，但他們沒那麼成功。

That's because there are other ingredients that go into this crazy rich Singapore recipe.

那是因為還有其他因素，讓新加坡變得如此有錢的秘訣

I'm at the Raffles Hotel, which is one of the most prominent icons of Singapore's colonial history.

我在萊佛士酒店，這是新加坡殖民史上最著名的地標之一。

Unlike some of its neighbors, which wanted to separate themselves from their colonial histories,

不像其他鄰近國家，想與其殖民歷史有所切割，

Singapore kept close ties with Britain, even after independence in 1965.

即使在 1965 年獨立後，新加坡仍與英國保持密切關係。

That decision announced to the rest of the world that Singapore was open for business.

該決定是向世界其他地方宣布新加坡開放貿易。

That's important because we know now that exports help to grow and expand an economy.

這非常重要，因為我們現在知道出口有助於經濟成長及擴大。

But back then, it wasn't conventional wisdom.

但在當時，這還不是普遍的想法。

Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, became known as the four Asian tigers, which have grown rapidly since the 1960s.

新加坡、香港，台灣和韓國被稱為亞洲四小龍，自 1960 年代以來迅速發展。

Their rise was fueled by exports, industrialization and more crucially, big doses of government intervention.

出口、工業化，更重要的是政府積極介入，才推動了他們的崛起。

This was especially true for Singapore.

新加坡更是如此。

Labor strikes were common on the island in the 1960s, even with high unemployment.

即使 1960 年代的失業率高，勞工罷工也是相當常見。

On top of that, there was a housing crisis,

最重要的是，出現住宅危機，

with Singapore being home to one of the largest slum settlements in the world.

使得新加坡成為世界最大的貧民窟之一。

So how do you build a more disciplined labor force to attract investment?

那你要如何打造訓練有素的勞動力，來吸引更多投資？

Well, you give them something to work for, like a house of their own,

你給他們某些工作的目標，像是他們自己的房子，

which is why one of the first Singapore government agencies set up was focused on building affordable public housing.

這也是為什麼首批新加坡政府機構的重點之一為，建立讓人可以負擔的公共住宅。

While just nine percent of the population lived in public housing in the 1960s,

雖然在 1960 年代只有 9% 的人住在公共住宅，

that figure stands at more than 80 percent today,

而這個數字現在超過 80 %，

add in greater employer rights and strikes became extremely rare.

雇主權利變得更高，讓罷工非常罕見。

At the same time, the government attracted foreign investment through tax incentives, growing the economy and easing unemployment,

同時，政府靠著稅收優惠，經濟成長和降低失業率，來吸引外國投資，

which fell from an estimated 14 percent in 1959 to 4.5 percent in the 1970s.

失業率從 1959 年估計的 14％，下降到 1970 年代的 4.5％。

By the 1980s, Singapore was a regional manufacturing hub,

到了 1980 年代，新加坡成為區域製造中心，

and it was the world's biggest producer of hard disk drives.

它是世界最大的硬碟生產商。

But today, manufacturing makes up only about 20 percent of Singapore's GDP.

但現在，製造業僅佔新加坡 GDP 的 20％ 左右。

Take a look at Singapore's growth in GDP.

來看一下新加坡的 GDP 成長情況。

You can see two big surges, one beginning in the late 80s and another at the start of the new millennium.

你可以看到有兩個時間點急遽上升，一個從 80 年代末開始，另一個在千禧年時開始。

Ironically, Singapore has a downturn to thank for that.

諷刺的是，由於這兩點，新加坡開始陷入衰退。

You see, in 1985, Singapore went into its first post-independence recession, prompting the government to introduce new measures.

你可以看到，在 1985 年，新加坡陷入獨立後的第一次經濟衰退，促使政府採取新措施。

State-owned companies like telecommunications were privatized to make them more competitive.

如電信業這樣的國有企業開始私有化，使它們更具競爭力。

Then at the turn of the century, service industries like finance and insurance were further liberalized.

而且在世紀末時，金融和保險等服務業，開始放寬限制。

That openness helped to grow the share of services from just 24 percent of GDP in 1985 to more than 70 percent in 2017.

這樣的放寬有助於服務業的成長，在 1985 年僅占 GDP 的 24%，到了 2017 年已經超過 70%了。

Multinational companies began to set up regional headquarters in Singapore.

跨國公司開始在新加坡設立地區總部。

That attracted even bigger players, boosting Singapore's attractiveness to corporates and in turn its GDP.

這吸引了更多投資者，提升新加坡對企業的吸引力，從而提升 GDP 。

Now, Singapore is ranked as one of the world's easiest places to do business.

現在，新加坡被評為世界最易拓展事業的地方。

Singapore has been praised for transforming itself from a developing to a developed economy.

新加坡因從發展中國家轉變成已開發國家而受讚揚。

But do most Singaporeans feel rich?

但是，大多數新加坡人覺得自己富裕嗎？

Well, not exactly.

這個，可不完全如此。

Two of the most important reasons?

有哪兩個最重要的主因呢？

The high cost of living and inequality.

生活成本高及不平等待遇。

For five years in a row, Singapore has been named the world's most expensive city, ahead of New York and London.

新加坡連續五年被評為世界花費最高的城市，超過紐約和倫敦。

That's largely because of taxes on cars, making Singapore the most expensive place in the world to buy and run an automobile.

這主要是因為對汽車徵稅，讓新加坡成為世界汽車最貴的地方，導致難以購買和擁有。

It's also the third most expensive place on Earth to buy clothes.

它也是世界衣服賣第三貴的地方。

But personal care, household goods and domestic help in Singapore tend to be less expensive than in other major cities.

但新加坡的個人護理、家庭用品和家務助理，往往比其他大城市便宜。

While Singapore is rich in terms of GDP per capita, the median monthly salary is $3,270.

雖然新加坡的人均 GDP 很高，月薪中位數為 3,270 美元。

That doesn't sound too bad, but about 20 percent of that goes into a mandatory savings account.

這聽起來沒有很糟，但其中有 20% 要撥到強制儲蓄帳戶中。

You can use that account to pay for medical bills, housing and education, but it does restrict the purchasing power of the population.

你可以用那帳戶的錢支付醫療費、住宅還有教育費，但它確實限制了全體人民的購買力。

You've probably heard of the movie Crazy Rich Asians, which was set here in Singapore.

你可能已經聽過《瘋狂亞洲富豪》這部電影，它就是在新加坡這裡取景。

And it's no wonder.

這也不奇怪。

Because Singapore has about 184,000 millionaires, making it truly the land of the crazy rich.

因為新加坡約有 184,000 名百萬富翁，讓新加坡真的成為瘋狂富人的國家。

That's great news.

這是個好消息。

But Singapore also has a fairly high rate of inequality, compared with other developed countries.

但與其他已開發國家相比，新加坡的不平等率也相當高。

Let's look at the Gini coefficient, which is a scale used to calculate inequality,

我們來看看吉尼係數，它是用來計算不平等的比例值。

with zero being the most equal and one being the least.

0 是最平等，而 1 是最不平等。

Singapore's Gini coefficient, after accounting for taxes and transfers, was 0.356 in 2017.

新加坡 2017 年的吉尼係數，在計算稅收和轉移後為 0.356。

That was worse than countries like the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea and Germany,

這比英國、日本，韓國和德國等國家差，

although it fared better than some, like the United States.

雖然還是比一些國家好，像是美國。

Is that number really that bad?

這個數字真的很糟糕嗎？

That question had books like this flying off the shelves.

像是這本書談到那問題，馬上就銷售一空。

A think tank ignited public debate on the divide in social classes, after it found that on average, Singaporeans who live in public housing have fewer than one friend who lives in private housing.

智庫發現，一般來說住在國宅的新加坡人，幾乎沒有朋友是住在私宅，這引發社會階層分歧的公開辯論。

The government has called the issue of inequality a national priority,

政府將這不平等的問題稱國家當務之急，

but it remains to be seen if it is a problem that can be tackled effectively.

但這問題是否能有效解決仍有待商榷。

Hi everyone, it's Xin En. Thanks for watching!

嗨，各位，我是辛恩。謝謝你的觀看！

If you want to watch more of our videos, click here and here.

如果想看我們更多影片，點這裡和這裡。

As always feel free to leave any suggestions for future videos in our comments section.

一如往常，歡迎在我們的留言區告訴我們，對之後影片的任何建議。

That's all for now, don't forget to subscribe and see you next time.

這就是今天的內容，別忘了訂閱，我們下次見。