Introduction to the Case Studies

Abstract

The two economies under discussion have peculiarities which make them very different from each other and from other developing countries. The differences between the two countries also means that any results from a comparison will prove limited. Vanuatu is officially ‘least-developed’, geographically isolated, poor and recently independent, while Singapore is richer than many developed nations, lies on a major trading route and has a long commercial history. Some postmodern-influenced views might suggest that comparisons between national economies are difficult anyway, and that such differences make the task even harder. Many mainstream modernist economists might also reject a comparison, since econometric studies often involve roughly similar countries, in the same geographic region, with the aim of isolating particular features which it is believed will contribute to cumulative economic knowledge.¹