Pages: 172-180
Introduction. Rarely in the course of world history has the pace of socio-economic and political transformation been so fast as in the case of Singapore since the mid-1960s. In spite of its lack of natural resources, the tiny Asian state achieved an impressive economic development and a high living standard in a short period of time. The successful story of Singapore shows clearly why the Asian city-state needed to be smart in the sense of being strategically oriented towards building a welfare society with a pronounced technological footprint. Visionary and strong political leadership, economic pragmatism, developmental policies, technological sophistication, and exceptional living conditions are among the key features of Singapore.
Aim of the study. The aims of the paper are to present the concept of smart state and briefly analyse its implementation in Singapore. The methodological approach is based on a quantitative method and a case study. The paper shows that the appearance and development of smart state can be considered as the outcome of the spread of the knowledge society worldwide. Also, it briefly analyses the case of Singapore, a smart Asian state, and identifies some of his main features.
Keywords: smart state, Singapore, knowledge, economic development, government.
JEL Classification: F00, O1, O53
