Publications

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS

• “From Meritocracy to Parentocracy, and Back” (joint with Vincent Chua). In Lee, Yew-Jin (Ed.) Education in Singapore, Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects 66, 2022, Springer (refereed).

ARTICLES IN JOURNALS

• “Do College Admissions Criteria Matter? Evidence from Discretionary vs. Grade-Based Admission Policies” (joint with Rais Kamis and Jessica Pan), Economics of Education Review, 2023, 92: Article 102347.
• “Do Ethnically-Congruent Teachers Really Matter Little for Hispanic Students? A Re-Examination of the Data”, Economics Letters, 2021, 206: Article 109976.
• “Do You Speak My Language? The Effect of Sharing a Teacher’s Native Language on Student Achievement”, Southern Economic Journal, 2021, 88(1): 245-273.
• “Impact of Immigrant Peers on Native Students’ Achievement: Evidence from Australia, Canada and the United States”, Australian Economic Review, 2021, 54(1): 94-116.
• “Breadth of University Curriculum and Labor Market Outcomes” (joint with Jessica Pan and Poh Lin Tan), Labour Economics, 2020, 65: Article 101873.
• “The Effect of Immigration Shocks on Native Fertility Outcomes: Evidence from a Natural Experiment”, IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 2018, 8(18): 1-34.
• “Immigrant Educators and Students’ Academic Achievement”, Labour Economics, 2018, 51(C): 152-169.

CONFERENCE PAPERS

• "Discussant Comments on Human Trafficking: The Economic Factors in Connection with Modern Day Slavery", Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Economic Association 2014 Conference, 2014, pp. 113.

WORKING PAPERS

• “Breadth of University Curriculum and Labor Market Outcomes in the Longer Run: Evidence from Administrative Tax Records” (joint with Jessica Pan and Poh Lin Tan)
• “Should We Border? The Impact of Immigrant Students and the Role of Institutional Arrangements” (joint with Raphael Leong).

Op-Eds and Other Publications

“A Lot of Swot – Good or Not?”, The Straits Times, August 10, 2022.

“Raise Salaries to Attract More Locals to Hospitality and F&B? It’s Not So Simple”, Channel NewsAsia Commentary, July 23, 2022.

“Workplace Discrimination: Greater Clarity Needed”, The Straits Times, September 4, 2021.

“More Non-Citizen Workers = Fewer Local Babies?”, The Straits Times, July 29, 2021.

“Foreign Labour Shortages in Construction Sector is a Wake-Up Call for Change”, Channel NewsAsia Commentary, June 13, 2021.

“University Admissions Not Solely About Grades: Some Surprise Results” (joint with Jessica Pan and Rais Kamis), The Straits Times, March 11, 2021.

“Looking to 2021: Prospects for the Singapore Economy and Jobs Market”, NUS News, February 11, 2021. (Invited commentary; link: https://news.nus.edu.sg/looking-to-2021-prospects-for-the-singapore-economy-and-jobs-market/)

“Will Fewer Foreign Workers Help Low-Wage Singaporeans?” (joint with Yeow Hwee Chua and Ivan Png), The Straits Times, February 5, 2021.

“PSLE Scores Could Impact Life Outcomes. So Don’t Let Them”, Channel NewsAsia Commentary, December 14, 2020.

“How Can Tertiary Students Boost Their Career Prospects in a Prolonged Crisis?”, TODAY, August 31, 2020.

“Immigration – A Fraught Issue That Deserves Closer Study”, The Straits Times, July 23, 2020.

“Will Reducing Foreign Worker Numbers Really Hurt Singapore?”, TODAY, June 11, 2020.

“For Your Neighbours’ Sake, Turn the Volume Down This Stay-Home Period”, Channel NewsAsia Commentary, April 17, 2020.

“How Can We Tell If Women Are Discriminated Against in the Labour Market?”, The Straits Times, March 21, 2020.

“What Economics Predicts About Pre-School Fees After Subsidies”, The Straits Times, October 3, 2019.

“Tuition Has Ballooned to a S$1.4b Industry in Singapore. Should We Be Concerned”, TODAY, September 12, 2019.

“PSLE Changes: New PSLE Scoring System for Foundation Level May Dampen Motivation”, The Straits Times, July 29, 2019.

“Fixation on Academic Qualifications will be Hard to Break”, The Straits Times, June 5, 2019.

“The Start of Subject-Based Banding – Is Grouping Classes by CCAs the Best Option?”, Channel NewsAsia Commentary, May 20, 2019.

“Single-Sex Schools Linked To Better Student Performance”, The Straits Times, March 16, 2019.

“Streaming May End, But Will Parents’ Behaviour Change?”, The Straits Times, March 7, 2019.

“Ensuring Poorer Kids Don’t Feel Marginalised in Top Schools”, The Straits Times, November 29, 2018.

“Reducing Class Size is Good, But Mind the Costs”, The Straits Times, October 24, 2018.

“Government Matchmaking Programmes Need a Rethink to Get Singles to Mingle”, Channel NewsAsia Commentary, October 20, 2018.

“Does Socioeconomic Background Matter? The Case of Singapore”, Economics & Society, 2018, 1, 10-14.

“When Poor Children in School Don’t Dream Big”, with Euston Quah, The Straits Times, June 9, 2018.

“Why Banning Tuition Will Only Make Things Worse”, The Straits Times, May 10, 2018.

“Time for Singapore Universities to Admit More International Students”, with Ivan Png, TODAY, January 29, 2018.

“Don’t be Hasty in Dismissing Private University Degrees”, The Straits Times, November 28, 2017.

“Understanding Gender Effects of Teacher-Student Interactions”, The Straits Times, November 24, 2017.

“Immigrants Outdo Native Students in Studies”, The Straits Times, June 14, 2017

“Direct School Admissions Revisions Laudable, But Challenge Lies in Transparency”, TODAY, March 17, 2017.

“How to Decide Whether to Get a Degree or Start Work”, The Straits Times, March 8, 2017.

“Kids with Tuition Fare Worse”, The Straits Times, December 8, 2016.

“Mixed Effects on Pupils of Different Abilities”, The Straits Times, July 27, 2016.

"Looking Good Pays Off - In Dollars and Cents", The Straits Times, May 10, 2016.

"Gauging Impact of Immigrant Students", The Straits Times, February 10, 2016.