Abstract
Singapore's industrialization is one of the fastest of developing countries, and is often considered a model case. But it has been dependent on foreign capital and technology to a large extent, which gives rise to doubts as to its applicability to other developing countries where economic nationalism demands a stricter control of foreign capital. Singapore's experience shows, however, that a liberal policy towards foreign capital is a shortcut to the increase of manufacturing exports and the reduction of unemployment. Export-led growth without dependence on foreign capital is extremely difficult since many industries in the export market are oligopolistic and entry is greatly restricted, while those where entry is not so restricted suffer from a low growth potential.
