Families Under Economic Stress 9789814376488

Citation preview

The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

Established as an autonomous corporation in May 1968, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies is a regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modern Southeast Asia. The Institute's research interests are focused on the many-faceted problems of Development and Modernization, and Political and Social Change in Southeast Asia. The Institute is governed by a twenty-four-member Board of Trustees on which are represented the University of Singapore and Nanyang University, appointees from the Government, as well as representatives from a broad range of professional and civic organizations and groups. A ten-man Executive Committee oversees day-to-day operations; it is ex officio chaired by the Director, the Institute's chief academic and administrative officer.

"Copyright subsists in this publication under the United Kingdom Copyright Act, 1911 , and the Singapore Copyright Act (Cap. 187). No person shall reproduce a copy of this publication, or extracts therefrom. without the written permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore."

- ii -

Ackno wledge ments I am gratef ul to the Instit ute of South east Asian Studie s for the financ ial suppo rt of this projec t. The sustai ned intere st and encour ageme nt from Profes so r Kern ia l Singh Sandhu , Direc tor of the Instit ute, has made this effort a pleasa nt experi ence and is much apprec iated. My thanks are also due to the famili es that partic ipated in this study for their time, intere st, and co-op eratio n. I wish to acknow ledge my gratit ude to Mr. Cheah Hock Beng, who has been most helpfu l both in the initia l design and the field work of the projec t, and to Mrs. Stella Quah, for her assist ance in compu ter analys is . Finall y, very specia l thanks to my wife, Effie, whos e unfail ing suppo rt has been indisp ensab le to the compl etion of this work.

- iii -

CONTENTS Page

Acknowledgem ents

ii

List of Tables

iv

Introduction

1

I:

The Problem

4

II:

The Setting

8

III:

The Economic Factors: and Household Items

Income, Expenditure 14

IV:

Responses to Inflation

22

V:

Perceived Well-Being and Relative Deprivation

27

VI:

Occupation and Education

32

VII:

Marital Relations

42

VIII: External Involvement - Kinship Contact and Community Participatio n

48

IX:

54

Summary and Conclusion

Appendix

58

Bibliography

69

- iv -

LIST OF TABLES Page Assistance Received by the Aided Families in Singapore

11

2

Demographic Profile of Sampled Families

11

3

Income and Perception of Income Need,by Type of Family

14

Sufficiency of Earned Income for Family Needs, by Type of Family

17

5

Family Expenditure Pattern, by Type of Family

18

6

Possession of Household Items, by Type of Family

19

7

Possession of Household Items and Type of Family, by Level of Per Capita Income

21

8

Inflation Impact, by Type of Family

22

9

Inflation Impact and Type of Family, by Head's Employment Status

23

10

Inflation Impact and Type of Family, by Level of Per Capita Income

24

11

First Item Mentioned as Affected by Inflation, by Type of Family

25

12

Fighting Inflation, by Type of Family

25

13

Ways of Fighting Inflation, by Type of Family

26

14

Relative Well-Being in Singapore, by Type of Family

27

15

Relative Well-Being Compared With Life Five Years, by Type of Family

28

16

Happiness in Present Life, by Type of Family

29

17

Happiness in Life and Type of Family, by Level of Per Capita Income

30

1

4

-

v -

Page 18

Happiness in Life and Type of Family, by Head ' s Employment Status

30

19

Present-Ori entati on, by Type of Family

31

20

Number of Full-Time Workers i n the Family, b y Type of Family

32

21

Number of Depe n dants. i n the Family, by Type of Family

33

22

Employment Status of Family Head , by Type of Family

34

23

Employment Status of the Wife, by Type of Fami ly

34

24

Head ' s Occupation, by Type of Family

35

25

Head's Education, by Type of Family

35

26

Wi fe's Education, by Type of Family

36

27

Leve l of Education Needed for Child, by 'I'ype of Family

37

28

Child's Choice After Secondary School, by Type of Family

38

29

Child's Chance to Comp l ete Secondary School, by Type of Family

39

30

Child's Chance t o Re c e ive University Educat ion, by Type of Family

39

31

Advis ed Occupation for Child, by Type of Family

40

32

Edu c ation of Head's Father , by Type of Family

41

33

Occupation o f Head's Father, by Type o f Family

41

34

Marit al Union, by Type of F amily

43

35

Husband-Wife Interactiona l Pattern, b y Type o f Family

44

- vi -

Page

36

Division of Labour between Husband and Wife, by Type of Family

45

37

Authority in Decision-M aking between Husband and Wife, by Type of Family

47

38

Frequency of Meeting the "Closest" Relative, by Type of Fa~ily

49

39

"Closest" Relative, by Type of Family

50

40

Interactio n with "Closest" Relative, by Type of Family

51

41

Community Participat ion, by Type of Family

52

Famili es Under Econom ic Stress The Singap ore Experie nce

by

Eddie C.Y . Kuo

Field Report Series No. 11 [nstitu te of Southe ast Asian Studie s Price:

S$6.00

Dr. Eddie C.Y. Kuo's "Fami lies Under Econom ic Stress " is the eleven th public ation in the Instit ute's Field Report series . This series was inaugu rated in 1973 and embod ies the resear ch work of the Instit ute's staff and fellow s. Growin g out of field work in late 1974, Famil ies Under Econom ic Stress explor es the povert y proble ms experi enced by a group of famili es under econom ic stress in Toa Payoh, a satell ite town in the Repub lic of Singap ore. We very much hope that the data and analys is presen ted in the work that follow s would be of intere st not only to socio logist s and other speci alists but to the larger public In the meanti me, while wishin g Dr. Eddie Kuo and as well. his study all the best, it is clearl y unders tood that respo nsibil ity for facts rests exclus ively with Dr. Kuo, and his interp retati ons do not neces sarily reflec t the views or policy of the Instit ute or its suppo rters. 9 Februa ry 19 76

Direc tor east Asian Studie s South of Instit ute

INTRODUCTION

Most sociologists agree that social stratification is universal and that the economic factor is one of the major In each society, there is dimensions of stratification . then always a segment of the population who is poorer and under temporary or permanent economic stress, relative to its status in the society. Such objective experiences of material insufficiency and subjective feelings of relative deprivation are closely related to the satisfaction of the basic needs o .When such important needs are not met, individuals or families are said to be in poverty · because the condition of their lives is not considered satisfactory . The impact of economic deprivation therefore involves much more than economic life only. As has been aptly argued by Roach, "Persons who are economically deprived usually .a lso suffer from ~ sociocultural deprivation and personality impoverishment."l This is especially true in a society that stresses ach i evement for all and, presumably, uni versali·srn as the pattern ·.o f selection for social placement. As - Merton2 · indicates, if the norm of the society expresses success in terms of · the attainment of wealth, then those who do not attain wealth have failed . Being poor is Poverty is thus · not only a being in a position of· failure. problem of income , and living standard, but also a problem of responding and adapting to the social and cultural forces resulting from the economic pressure . It is generally agreed · among social scientists that the poor are different from the rest of the population in the society . There is, however, no consensus on how and why they are different . Blum and Rossi reviewed hundreds of published works on social class research, mainly studies done in Western societies, and identified three issues of dissent among writers in the field:

1

Jack 1 . Roach, · "Soci o logical Ana lysis and Pove rty, " American

Journal of Sociology,. VoL 71, 1965, p . 74. 2

Robert K . Merton, "Cont inuitie's in t he Theo r y of Social S.tructure and Anomie," SociaZ Theo ry and SociaZ Structu:roe, Glen coe, Ill.: The Free Press, 1957, p . 166££.

- 2 -

First, there is the question of whether the "lower-lowers" are "happy" or not .... The second major point arises over whether or not the ''lower-lowers" have developed a contra-culture . .• or whether they are best characterized by what Hyman Rodman (1963) calls "value stretch" .. • . A third issue over which there is some disagreement concerns the extent to which the characteristics of the poor are "cultural" or "situational . ") Notwithstanding these areas of disagreement, Blum and Rossi also point out that there is "considerable consensus" among writers concerning some specific features that are manifested by the poor . These characteristics of the poor focus on the following areas:4 (1)

Labour Force Participation - unemployment, intermittent employment, and public assistance .

(2)

Occupational Participation - low-skill level occupation .

(3)

Family and Interpersonal Relations - marital instability, father-absence, illegitimacy, unstable interpersonal relations, etc.

(4)

Community Characteristics - low level of voluntary organization and low participation in local voluntary associations.

(5)

Relationship to Larger Society - lack of interest in and knowledge of the larger society, social alienation.

( 6)

Va lu'=·--orientation - sense of hopelessness, low "need achievement," and low level of aspirations, etc. -

In the current study, we propose to explore the poverty problem experienced by a group of families under economic

3

Zahava D. Blum and Peter H. Rossi, "Social Class Research and Images of the Poor: A Bibliographic Review," -in Daniel P. Moynihan, ed . , On Understandi ng Poverty: Perspecti ves from the Social Sciences, New Yo r k: Basic Books, 1968, pp . 352-353.

4

Ibid ~ ,

pp . 351-352 .

-

3 -

stress in Singap ore, and to identif y some distinc tive charac teristic s of this group of popula tion as compare d It is with the "nonpoo r" popula tion in genera l. the r whethe out find to t relevan tically thecre genera lizatio ns made by Blum and Rossi also apply to Singap ore. Whatev er differe nces we find between the poor and the nonpoo r will certain ly contrib ute to our further underst anding of the stratif ication structu re in Singap ore. As long as poverty is seen as a social problem , it is implied that measure s can be taken, and social policie s implem ented, to improve the situati on and perhaps to solve the problem . To the texten t that this belief is common ly accepte d in the society , our study of the poverty problem would provide useful inform ation for policy- making and Since elimin ation of poverty and improve ment implem entatio n. of the living standar d are two of the major nationa l objecti ves in Singap ore, the potent ial applied value of such a poverty study should not be ignored .

-

I~

4 -

THE PROBLEM

A comparison between the poor and the nonpoor families could involve a large variety of variables regarding different aspects of thei r life . In order to provide a guideline for the current study and to make the subsequent analysis orderly and meaningful , we will list in this section the major areas of foci explored in t his research o Firstly, since the economic life is, by def ini tion, the most bas ic element to distinguish the poor from the nonpoor, a brief ana lysis of the economic life of people under investigation will be one of the focal concerns in our study . Both the income level and the expenditure pattern of the poor families as compared with that of the nonpoor will be ana l yzed c Moreover, we will be interested not .on J:y i n the actual l evel of income of the families studied, but also in their level of aspiration. Their "perceived" need of ext r a income, as well as the level of "sufficient income" suggested, will :3-lso be compared for a fuller understanding of the life of the families under economic stress . The general economic situation in the society provides an added factor to be considered in this study. During a period of time when inflation was being bitterly experienced by most in the society, people with different economic statuses were expected to feel and respond differently. In the year 1974, the inflation situation sensitized most of the population to the economic issue as a common concern . It is believed that the poor were especially hard hit . The rising prices in commodity items must have meant an urgent problem that cried for immediate action . It is therefore important to find out how the poo~ as well as the nonpoor, perceive, and respond to, the problem of inflation.S The strain of economic difficulty is not only an objective condition imposed upon the poor, but also something that creates subjective awareness among them . They perceive their economic difficulty and, after comparing their living situation with others around, tend to develop an awareness of relative deprivation . As has been argued

5

See Wong Saik Chin, Public Reaction to the Oil Crisis: The Field Rep ort No . 9, Singapo r e: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1975 .

Singapore Case,

- 5 -

6 by many, this further leads to the sociopsychological processes related to the status of poverty. The "perceived well-being" and feeling of "relative deprivat i on" constitute another area that deserves some attention i n our current study in Singapore. A sociological study of poverty involves more than a study of the income level and the expenditure pattern . In fact, the sociologist tends to look at the economic situation, including material deprivation, as given, and explores further both the possible causes and the likely consequences of the economic stress . Two sociological factors are often discussed as important elements in .explaining the poverty status of the individual, that is; education and occupation . The In an u r bancausal link can be simplified as follows: i ndustrial society, education determines to a great exten t the type of occupation one is to get in the labour marke t . A person with a low level of education will very l i kely be i nvolved in an occupation with less pay, less stab1lity and lower social prestige . ? He is more likely to face temp o r a ry or constant economic difficulties. Furthermore, · i f the s t andards of educational requirement increase w1th t he growth of economy, his relative deprivation also i nc r ease s accordingly . Education and occupation are also believed to be i mportant elements in explaining the perpetuation of poverty status over generations. Thus children f r om e c onomically deprived families are handicapped both i n terms of financial support and · parental aspirations i n their educational attainment, which again influences the type of occupation they are capable of taking up i n the In the current study, we are interested in finding future.

6

See Warren C. Haggstrom, "The Power of the Poor," i n Ment a l HeaUh of the Poor., by F . Riessman, et.aZ., eds., Glencoe, Il L : The Free Press, 1964, pp . 205-221, reprinted in Poverty American Sty le, by H. Miller, ed . , · Belmont, Cali·fornia: ' Wadsworth, 1966, pp . 61-8 1 ; and Oscar Lewis, "The Cultur e of Poverty," in Ant hropo l ogi-ca l Essays, by Oc Lewis~ New Yor·k: Random House, 1970, pp . 6 7-80 .

7 Ac cordi ng to Otis D. Duncan, education ·is the onl y vari ab l e which persistentl y ranks all the white-collar strata above ea ch of t he manual and farm strata. (O . D. Duncan, "Methodol ogi cal Issues 1n the Analysis of SoCial Mobility," in Social Str'Ucture and Mob&hty in Economic Development edited by Mo Smelser and S. M" Lipset, Ch i cago : Aldine, 1966 .)

- 6 -

out whether the hypothesized relationships between education, occupation, and the economic status of the family hold true in the Singapore setting . W1th regard to the possible consequences of economic stress, these areas are to be explored: marital relations, kinship relations, and community participation . In a sense, all the three represent different layers of social 1nvolvement , The general hypothesis is that individuals from families under economic stress tend to show a lower level of social involvement, not only because social 1nvolvement generally requires investments in money and time which the poor lack, but also because this group of the population tends also to be more withdrawn and alienated. The pattern of withdrawal and retreatism is a defence mechanism responding to or in anticipation of social rejection . In the area of marital relations, we expect to find poverty status related to marital disorganizati on . B We would also like to find out if couples from poor families in Singapore show distinct patterns as compared with the nonpoor in marital interaction, decision-maki ng, and division of labour , In the case of kinship contacts, we are interested to know who the relatives are with close ties w1th the fam1ly, and whether the poor and the nonpoor show different patterns in types and extent of kinship contacts. As has been pointed out by Lewis, "The lack of effective participation and integration of the poor in the major institutions of the larger society is one of the crucial characteristi cs of the culture of poverty . "9 The

8

See, Karen G. Hillman, "Marital Instab i lity and its Relation to Education, Income and Occupation: An Analysis Based on Census Data," in Robert F . Winch, Robert McGinnis, and Herbert R. Bar ringer s eds , , Selected Studies in Marriage and the Family~ New Yo r k: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1962, pp . 603-608; William J _ Goode, After Divorce~ Glencoe, Ill . : Free Press, 1956, pp. 46-47; and William M. Kephart. "Occupational Level and Marital Disruption " Ameri can Soci ologi cal Revi ew~ Vol . 20, 1955, pp . 456-465 , '

9

0 Lewis, op . ait . ~ p . 70. The concept "culture of poverty" · is quoted here in its loose and "nonte chnical" sense . We have no intention of enLering into Lhe argument regarding this controversial concept . InLerested readers are referred to the following: Jack L. Roach and Orville R. Gursslin, "An Evaluation of the Concept 'Culture of Pove r ty"' Social Forces~ Vo l. 45, 1966-67, pp . 382-392; Elizabeth

- 7 -

part i cular type of partici pation we choose to study in this survey i s that of commun ity activit ies which include some importa nt aspects of their econom ical, educat ional, as well as recreat i onal partici pation in the immedi ate commun ity . Aga i n, we will be able to test whethe r the hypothe s1s of soc i al isolati on among the poor holds true in S i ngapore To summar ize, th i s study of the familie s under econom 1c stress propose s t o explore the relatio nships between poverty stat us and the var i ables related to t he followi ng major areas of i nteres t: (1 )

Income, expend iture and possess i on of househ old 1tems

l2 )

Feel i ngs and r esponse s to inflati on •

(3)

Perce i ved we l l-be i ng and relativ e depriva tion .

(4 )

Educat i on an d occupa tion as explan atory v ariable s of poverty .

(5 )

Mar i ta l re l at i onsh i ps, i ncludin g marita l d1sorga n i zat i on, interac tional pattern s, d i v i s i on of labour, and decisio n-maki ng.

(6 )

Extent of extern al contac ts, includi ng types and exten t o f k i nsh i p relatio ns and commun ity part i cipat1o n ,

Herzog , " Is There a Cultur e of Poverty? " i n Poverty i n the Affl uent Harpe r and Row, Soa~e ty ~ by Hannon H. Meissne r , ed., New York: Pover ty : and Culture e, Valentin A. es l Char ; 102 92. 1966, pp Un i vers i t y of Ch1 cago Press , C~t~que and Counter>-Pr>OposaZ s~ Ch1cago: 1968; Pe t er H. Ro s s 1 and Zahava D. Blum, "Class, Stat us and Pove rt y," 1n Moyn1han , e d . , op ait , ~ pp . 36-63; and Herbe r t J. Gans, "Cul t ur e and Clas s i n t he St udy o f Po ve r ty: An Approach t o Anti-Pov erty Re search," i n Moyn i han , e d . , op . ait .~ pp . 187-200 .

-

II:

8 -

THE SETTING

The present study focuses on a group of economically dependent families under economic stress living in Toa Payoh , a satellite t own in Singapore . This is a group of famili es current l y receiving various types of assistance from one or more public sources, government or nongovernment o Wh ile these aided families a r e no doubt families under economic pressure, the difference between these and other families i n the same community is more than income, ea r ned o r otherwise o Rather, their status of receiving assistance from public channels implies some significant processes as a result of their economic difficulty c Firstly, these famili es, i n o r der to receive ass i s t ance, must take the initiative or be persuaded to apply . The very act of application implies a self-defined status of poverty . In other words, these families believe they are poor and in need of economic aid o Secondly, the fact that their application is accepted and assistance granted implies that these families are also socially recognized as in poverty and in need of assistance . And finally, such assistance is accepted by the families involved. This further reinforces the earlier processes of self-definition and societal recognition . These processes are known to imply some negative connotation of demoralization for the family has fai l ed to be self-supporting. such a negative social stereotype is especially strong for the Social Welfare Allowance In our study, for instance, we found a few recipients. cases where the needy famil·i es were extremely reluctant to apply for assistance from the Social Welfare Department for fear of such stigmatization, and would rather rely on other nongovernment agencies or simply on relatives and friends, from whom the assistance was typically irregular . As a result, there is an interplay of mutual reinforcemen t of self-definition and societal recognition of the poverty status of the aided families o Responding to such internal and external pressures, the family and its members tend to make some sociopsychological and sociological adjustments, which may include resignation and alienation o In any case, there is definitely more than income and property to differentiate the a i ded families from other families i n the community. Whi l e focusing on the social and economic variables surrounding the status of poverty to this aided group, we also make a comparison with a sample of "normal" famil i es

- 9 -

Such a comparison with the nonpoor from the same area. group is necessary because the conditions relative to the nonpoor are crucial in the conception of poverty. To understand the poor, we must then study the nonpoor at the same time. Only after a comparison with a "control" group will we be able to identify the differences between this group of aided families and other families in terms of the variables under investigation. At the outset, 1n order to make our comparison more fruitful, it was decided that a relatively homogeneous sample was to be selected to control some possible extraneous factors . Firstly, the sample was to be drawn only from the Toa Payoh area,lO the largest satellite town in Singapore . The families were homogeneous to the extent that all of them were government HDB flat dwellers from the same community. Thus, the factors of geographical location and type of housing were "controlled" in the study. This sampling scheme also facilitated the fieldwork to a great extent Secondly, only Chinese families were to be included This is in the sample to control the "ethnicity" factor. justified by the fact that Chinese constitute 76% of Singapore's populat1on. With a sample of slightly more than 200, 1t would be difficult to make multivariate analysis controll1ng the factor of ethnicity. A meaningful analysis of the data 1n terms of ethnic differences relating to the poverty status would have been 1mpossible. F1nally, it was decided that the families sampled should consist of at least two generations with a minimum of two members . The single-person "family" was therefore excluded, and so was the conjugal family consisting of husband and wife only. The rationale was aga1n to control the variability in the The preparental and the stages of the family l1fe cycle. postparental families were excluded . Wh1le the above "controls" certainly would limit the generalizability of the findings of the current study, they are nevertheless 1mportant in ruling out some extraneous var1ables which might render any generalization W1th such limitations in the sample and thus meaningless in its general1zability, it is not clearly known to what extent the findings of this study can be gen e r ali zed for all

10

Th e 1970 census of Singapore shows the Toa Payoh d istr ict had a pop u 1at ~on of 112,785, w~th 99 . 376 (88 . 11%) Ch i n ese

-

10 -

the poor and the nonpoor families in Singapore . But we can say, at least with some confidence , that the findings can be generalize d for Chinese families in Singapore who live in governmen t HDB flats with at least two generation s In view of the fact that 76% within the same residence . of the population in Singapore are Chinese and about 50% of the Singapore population now live in HDB flats, we feel our sample is adequate in representi ng· a large portion of the population in Singapore . As mentioned before, in the current study , "families under economic stress" is operation ally defined as "families currently receiving some form of assistance from public sources . " Specifica lly, the subsample of these aided a list of Social families was drawn from three sources: Welfare Allowance recipients living in the Toa Payoh area, a list of families currently receiving welfare assistance from a local religious organizati on, and a list of families receiving a bursary and free schooling from a public school in the area . All families listed from these sources that A satisfied the above-men tioned criteria were approached as d interviewe lly total of fifty-five cases was successfu the subsample of the "aided families," or families under e c onomic stress . It should be noted that, except in the case of Social Welfare Allowance recipients , our subsarnple of aided families does not cover all or a representa tive sample of families receiving all types of public assistance s in Toa Payoh. But we did cover all of those listed in the sources mentioned above who satisfied our criteria and who made themselves available for interview . Table 1 shows various sources of assistance s received by the fifty-five aided families in the subsample . It is apparent that quite a number of families receiving aid from public sources also received assistance from friends and relatives . The nonpoor group, or the "control" group, of the survey was based on an area representa tive sample of In order to cover a wide households in Toa Payoh . geographic al area in this satellite town, families living in different types of flats in differ~nt blocks were selected at random in the original sample. Substituti ons were made when an initially selected family did not fit In total,a subsample of the criteria mentioned before . lly approached and successfu was families nonaided 153 1ncluded in our final analysis. This gives us a total sample size of 208 families.

- 11 -

Table 1:

Assistance Rece i ved by the Aided Families in the Sample

%

N

Type of Assistance

(Total N

55)

From Publ i c Sou rc e Social Welfa r e Ass i stance Reduc ed School Fee Free Text Books School Bursar y Aid from Non-Governm ent Groups

58.2 50.9 29.1 16.4 10 . 9

32 28 16 9

6

From Private Source 23.6 20 . 0

13

Ai d from Relat i ves Aid f r om Fri ends

11

A comparison of some demograph ic character istics of the two groups of families is made in Table 2, showing a general profile of the families studied. T-tests were made and nothing except the average years of marriage was found significan tly different between the two subsarnple s. Tab l e 2:

Demographic Prof i le of Sampled Families

Selected Demographic Vari ables Family Si ze Number of Ch i l dr en Age of Family Headl (yea r s) Age of Wife2 (years ) Years of Marriage Notes:

Ai ded Fami ly N Mean

Nonaided Famill N Mean

Difference

5.5 3. 6

55 55

5.2 3.0

153 153

0.3 0.6

45 . 6 38.6 17 . 1

55 31 31

42.3 36.4 14.3

153 130 129

3.3 2. 2 2 . 8*

* T-test shows the difference i s significant at t he 0.5 level. Al l other di ffe ren c es are not statistical ly si gn i f icant. l Includi ng female heads . 2 Wives l i vi ng in the same residence with husbands.

- 12 -

Cou p l es f rom the a ided g r oup were mar r ied longer than Otherwi se the two g r oups t hose f rom t he nona i ded g r oup . d1d n o t show sign i ficant differences in terms of family si z e, n11mber of c h ildren, age of the head of the family, and age o f the wi fe o The l ack of sign i f i cant differences i n t he above var i a b l es between the two groups i ndicates that these On t he other hand, a r e al so var iah le s "under control" . 1 ~ r eflects the fact that the res i dents in Toa Payoh are qu i te homogene o us as a g r oup, at least muc h mo r e so t han In th1s sense, t he popu lation of S i ngapo r e i n genera l . the two types o f families under study may not make a "good" c ontrast c In other wo r ds, t here a r e i n S i ngapore many fami li es who a r e much poorer than the a i ded group i n our sample " These are people who live in slum areas As a contrast, i n a state o f disreputable desti t ution , t he a i ded group in our sample were p r obab l y mai nly upperOn l owe r rathe r t han l ower- l ower in socioeconomic status . the other hand r the nonaided families i n Toa Payoh were mos t ly middle class o r more specifica l ly lower-middle The upper class and most class in socioeconomic status . of t he uppe r -mi ddle class families were not represented . As a resu l t, any s i gnificant differences we find in t he cur rent study regarding these two subsamp l es are i n fact unde r estimates of the contrast between the poor and the nonpoo r in S i ngapore . 'T he data i n the study were collected through persona l intervi ews by int erviewers, most of whom were socio l ogy students f r om the Univers i ty of Si ngapore, with bas i c t ra i ning in the technique of personal interview . The int erviews were carri ed out in the proper d i alect / language with the help of a questionnaire which i ncluded most l y c l osed and some open-ended questions . ll In order to facilita t e the fieldwork and to reduce the refusa l cases, preinterview contacts with the samp l ed f ami l ies were conducted o A letter wr i tten in both English and Chine se a nd s i gned by the principal invest i gator was p repared and presented to the perspective fam i ly bo t h t o exp l a1n the nature of the survey and to solicit co- operat i on , During such preintervi ew contacts, the f i e l dwo rk e r was i nstructed to seek relevant i nformat i on The i nformation t hrough obse rvat i on and some b ri ef questions .

11

Part of the q ues t ionn a ire , ~ n cl ud i ng a ll q uest i ons r e l evant t o dat a us e d i n t his r ep o r t , i s rep ro du c ed i n the App e nd i x .

-

13 -

helped us to decide whether the perspectiv e family contacted In addition, satisfied the criteria of our target sample. for those families which satisfied our criteria, the dialect group background and sometimes the surname of the family The preferred day or hour of the interview were recorded. This practice proved to facilitate could also be arranged. t of the fieldwork and the arrangemen the to a great extent ts. responden the of on co-operati The fieldwork ~·1 2.s started in mid-Octobe r 19 7 4 and The interview lasted for about two and a half months. The normally took from forty-five to seventy minutes. respondent s were either the head of the family n r his wife, The although the former was preferred when possible. by the n supervisio proper f1eldwork was carried out under cases, some In . assistant an and principal investigat or more than one visit were necessary to complete the inf o rma tion Altogethe r, 208 families, 55 from the aided gro up needed. and 152 from the nonaided group, were successfu lly interviewe d and included in the final analysis.

- 14 -

III:

THE ECONOMIC FACTORS: INCOME, EXPENDITURE AND POSSESSION OF HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

A poor family is a family which lives under constant economic pressure. Economic life is, , therefore, an important aspect of the life of the poor. In this section, we are interested not only in whether the aided families actually earned less income, but also in the extent of such difference. Besides, analysis will be made on their perception of income need and their pattern of expenditure, as compared with the nonaided families living in the same geographical setting. The first crucial question,therefore, is whether the aided families are really poor in terms of their earned and total incomes, if only to justify our operational 9efinition of families in poverty used in this study. Table 3 summarizes the findings on income and related variables, which show that the aided families in average earned about S$25o . ool2 per month in late 1974. The amount is less than 40% of that of the nonaided families which earned an average monthly income of $634 o20. Table 3:

Income and Per ception of

In~ome

Need by Type of Family (in Singapore dollars)

Aided Family N Mean Total Monthly Income Now Per Capita Income Nowl Total Monthly Income One Year Age Perceived Extra Income Need for the Family Suggested Sufficient Income for Family of Five Notes:

12

Nonaided Family Mean N

Difference

248.50 56 . 00

55 55

634.20 133.10

152 152

385 ., 70* 77 .10*

245.90

54

532.20

149

286.30*

152.90

52

157.80

138

4 . 90

41 L 40

51

536 . 40

148

125.00*

*

T-test shows the difference is statistically significant at the 0 , 001 leveL 1 Based on both earned and non-earned regular incomes .

Al i incomes and expenditure figures in this report a r e in Singapore dollars unless otherwise stated ,

- 15 -

It is interestin g to compare the average earned income of about $250 , 00 among the aided group in our sample with a minimum "poverty line" suggested in Singapore by an AUPE (Amalgamat ed Union of Public Employees) study in early 1974, which drew the poverty line at $252.71 per month for a family of four to meet the minimum standard of living in Singapore. l3 In making comparison s with our findings, it should be n oted that the AUPE study was done in early 1974 and thus did not take into account inflation since then. Besides, the group of aided families in our sample averaged 5.5 person s in s ize whlch was substantia lly larger than the basis ta f amily of four) used to determine the poverty line by AUPE. The average earned income of $250.00 found among the poor famil y group in our study, therefore, was much lower than the poverty line suggested by AUPE, although it does not mean that the income of each family was below the minimum line of poverty . In order to take the size of the family into considerat ion, and also to include the nonearned regular incomes, such as welfare allowances , and cash assistance from relati ves, of the aided famlly lnto account, we also compare the average income per person, that is, per capita income, of both types of families . Per cap i ta income is, therefore, a ffiOre preclse measureme nt of the living standard than the total earned income for comparison . We found that the addition of cash assistance received by the poor families did slightly narrow the gap between the aided and the nonaided families in terms of per capita income (see Table 3). People from the aided group had a monthly share of $56 per person, while those from the nonaided group had $133.10. There was still a difference of about $77.00. The per capita income of the poor was about If we transform the standard of 42% of that of the nonpoor. the poverty line from the AUPE study into per caplta income, again we find the aided group in our study were, in average, below the poverty line, especially if we take into considerat ion that our survey was carried out almost one year later than the AUPE study during a period of rapid inflation. Another way of looking at the poverty problem is to compare the change of family income over time . The respondent s were requested to estimate their famil y inc ome one year before the time of interview. Compar isons were made between the poor and the nonpoor, and between now and one year back for both groups. Table 3 shows that the aided families were not only lower in their earned inc ome, but also

13

"Nutr i tion. Bas ic Needs and the Small Scale Budge t. " Singapore, 21 March 1974.

Straits Times,

- 16 -

s l owe r j_n inc ome growth. In fact, there was in average practically no i ncome increase at all for the a i ded families between 1973 and 1974 . This may partly be explained by the employment status (whether employed or not) and the occupational status of the major breadwinner in the family (this will be discussed in a later section). A selective factor might also be involved here s i nce some of the aided families might have become "aided" simply because th e family had lost its major source of income over the past year . As a contrast, the nonpoor families as a group had in average gained $100 . 00 in their monthly income over the year, an i mpress i ve increase of over 18%. Given the allowance that there is a tendency for the aided group to underreport their income and for the nonaided gro up to e x aggerate, still the difference is so large that there seems a growing gap between the incomes of the two groups. The poor are getting poorer, and the rich richer, i n a relative sense at least o The families were also requested to indicat e the extra income they h ee d "to be able to have the things you need to live comfortably in Singapore" (Q. 16 .1) .14 Notab ly the extra income needs perceived by the two groups of families were practically identical (see Table 3) . Two counterforces in perceiving such demands may be involved here, resulting in the apparently similar perceived extra income need o The aided families may feel the need of more income because they fall below the poverty line and are constant ly experiencin-g the economic pressure . But then, since their expectation and aspiration of "a comfortable life" tend also to be lower than that of the nonaided families, they may not feel that they need too much more money to live comfortably . These two considerations are reversed in direction for the nonaided families . For them, the "actual" need is less but the standard of comfortable living is higher. Consequently, thelr perceived need of extra income turns out to be similar to that of the group under economic stress. The above explanation is partly supported by their estimate of the amount of "sufficient income" for a family of five in Singapore today . The estimate made by the aided

14

Thls r efers to the question number in the Questionnaire . See Appendi x for detail , The same reference is used throughout this re p ort ,_

- 17 -

group ($411 . 40) was much higher than their present income ($248 . 50) but still much lower than the estimate made by the nonaided group ($536. 40) (see Table 3). The estimate made by the latter group was, as a contrast, much lower than what they claimed they actually earned ($634 . 20). A similar conclusion can be made from data in Table 4, which shows that two-thirds of the aided families fe lt that their income was not sufficient "for the needs of the family" as compared with about 20% among the nonaided group who made the same complaint. There is a significant correlation between the "aided" status and felt insufficiency in income with a gamma of 0.653 and a contingency coefficient of 0 . 374. Table 4: (Q ,

16

Sufficiency of Earned Income for Family Needs, by Type of

Famil~

"How sufficient or insufficient is the present total monthly earned income of your family for the needs of the family?" )

Aided Family (N

=

48) %

%

8.3

22 . 2 55 . 6 22.2

100.0

100 . 0

66.7 25.0

Not Sufficient Just Sufficient More than Sufficient

32 . 78

df

0.374

gamma

1

Nonaided Family (N = 153)

p