More Singaporeans prioritise livelihood over life, survey shows

The livelihood over life debate ratio was at 3.3.

The livelihood over life debate ratio, or the measure of the trade-off between prioritising economic growth and the cost of life rose to 3.3 in March 2022, a survey by the DBS and Singapore Management University (SMU).

This means that for every person who prioritised life over livelihood, there are over three people who prioritised livelihood over life.

The March 2022 ratio was an increase from the 2.6 recorded in December last year.

“This also indicates a level of divergence among Singaporeans, some who feel the economy should be reopened fully to generate some semblance of growth and creating jobs while others feel that protecting lives should be considered with utmost priority particularly given the high level of vaccination,” DBS and SMU said.

Singapore's inflation rose to 4.3% year-on-year in February, from 2.3% in the same month last year, according to data from the Department of Statistics.

The survey conducted online is part of the organisations' quarterly poll involving around 500 randomly selected individuals representing a cross section of Singaporean households.