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| Source: https://www.bworldonline.com/ |
Governance translates into achieving or not achieving goals, and thus development is a dependent outcome of governance.
Goals are assumed to be positively correlated to human development.
Streamlining communication allows people in power to streamline their response in a timely manner.
The journey towards human development is a challenging expedition that requires multifaceted endeavor. It is also important to note that there are sets of standards which will guide developers to conform that all specific actions are in accordance with the standards that lead to substantial execution and effective development. These sets of standards will be our guiding light to assess the relationship between governance and development.
First, let us examine how governance is viewed in the context of an organization. A group of individuals may come to organize themselves into a certain group that shares common goals, and these individuals may choose among themselves the people who will be in charge to carry out activities and to regulate all aspects to achieve the goals. While they are entrusted by the majority of the members to manage, they are also bound morally to follow their own rules and impose existing policies that help regulate various aspects of the organization. The organization is embedded with stakeholders, department or division, officials, mission and vision, policies and procedures of bylaws, funding sources, tangible and intangible assets and liabilities, etc. The art of amalgamating these elements reflects the manner of management. The essence of amalgamation to achieve goals is what governance describes. That kind of governance translates into achieving or not achieving goals, and thus development is a dependent outcome of governance. The overall shape of an organization depends on the interplay of policy execution, consistencies and adherence of organizational thrust towards goals, unity of members’ intentions, integrity of individuals entrusted to govern the organization, and the obedience of members towards policies and regulations. If by any means, the goals are achieved then governance is good. It is also important to note that goals are assumed to be positively correlated to human development.
One of the examples that shows correlations between governance and development is the efficiency of feedback mechanisms. Let’s say a certain locality experienced flooding, this natural disaster endangers the life of the people. In this scenario, communication is vital in responding to people who need to be evacuated. Aside from communication, it also important that the hierarchy of command is established corresponds with their responsibilities and area of assignments, sufficient equipment to perform their tasks, and the operational guidelines that specify their specific role once disaster strikes. If a clear and comprehensive plan were in place with the strong decision-making skills of the person in-charge will somehow lessen the damage caused by the disaster. Streamlining communication allows people in power to streamline their response in a timely manner. However, if there are no clear operational guidelines, poor understanding of their responsibilities, no good equipment to use, and poor decisiveness on immediate concerns will put the life of the people in danger, this may spell huge damage and may even cause casualties and localized factions or social polarization against the people in power. This is just a small segment of governance that shows the relationship to the capacity of the government in saving the life of the people.
Each aspect of governance is unique from each other, they also contribute uniquely to the overall effectiveness of managing an organization, thus no single aspect that is universally better than the other. It is therefore important to note that these aspects examine some specific areas that justify their importance in assessing the level of governance.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore is known for its vast development outcomes across various indicators of good governance. Below is the Singapore Human Development data from 2015 to 2022. The latest value from 2022 is 0.949 points, an increase from 0.030 points in 2021. Singapore is relatively higher than the average HDI (0.727) based on the data from 185 countries in 2022. Singapore is ranked 9th in global rankings and 1st in the Southeast Asia.
HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT INDEX
Source: Singapore Human development - data, chart | TheGlobalEconomy.com
One of the best practices done by Singapore is its strong anti-corruption measures and transparency. It has the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau that operates independently to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption. This gains high levels of public trust and confidence in government institutions. Significant GDP growth for about 3.5%. This growth is an outcome of strategic economic policies that have implemented pro-business policies, efficient regulatory frameworks, and robust infrastructure development. Foreign investment has been attracted due to these practices and in turn allows economic growth (Public Administration Institute, 2025).
Singapore has no official poverty line to measure the rates of poverty, however according to Dr Ng Kok Hoe the minimum income standard should be 1,680 USD and 3% of the people in Singapore is living below this standard (Felix, 2024).
In 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test, Singapore ranked top 1 among the Southeast Asian countries with the score of 560. Singapore achieved the highest scores in all subjects of mathematics, reading and science. A staggering 92% of students in the country have surpassed the basic mathematics proficiency (Awaliante, 2024).
Singapore in general has an efficient and widespread system of healthcare. Singapore was ranked 6th in the World Health Organization’s ranking of the world’s health system (World Health Organization, 2013) and is regarded as the most efficient healthcare system in the world by the Bloomberg in 2014. Bloomberg Global Health Index ranked Singapore the 4th healthiest country in the world and first in Asia (Ambili, 2017).
As of 2019, Singaporeans have the world’s longest life expectancy for about 84.8 years at birth. Women can expect to live an average of 87.6 years with 75.8 years in good health and the average for men are lower with a life expectancy at 81.9 years with 72.5 years in good health (Khalik, 2019). Singapore has one of the most successful healthcare systems in the world, in terms of both efficiency in financing and the result achieved in community health outcome (Towers Watson, 2010).
Singapore
scores highly on the political stability index, with a recent value of 1.42 in
2023, this is significantly above the world average from 193 countries.
Historically, Singapore has an average of 1.27 points from 1996 to 2023 which
the minimum value of 0.88 is during 2003 while the highest is 1.6 points during
2017. The political stability index ranges from -2.5, regarded as weak and 2.5,
regarded as strong. This measures the likelihood of government destabilization
or overthrow by unconstitutional or violent means, including politically
motivated violence and terrorism. However, Singapore consistently reaches high
scores that reflects it robust governance and effectiveness of measures to
maintain political stability compared to other countries (The
Global Economy, 2025). 
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