Economists Upgraded S’pore’s Growth Forecast Reportedly Partially Due to Taylor Swift’s Concert

By
Kimi Tan
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There have been people criticising Singapore’s Government for spending taxpayer money on bringing Taylor Swift to Singapore.

Reader: Ya sia, I don’t benefit at all. I don’t even like her music, why is my taxpayer money being used for this?

Actually, this was a calculated move by the Government, which seems to be proficient in Swiftonomics.

Reader: Swift-what?

Swiftonomics

Switftonomics refers to the economic influence of Taylor Swift and her impact on various sectors.

You may think fans are stupid for spending so much money on tickets to see Taylor Swift live when they can just listen to her music online, but the experience of hearing live music is very different, and Swift knows this all too well.

You see, she’s not just a talented performer. She’s a smart businesswoman too.

And money makes the world go round.

On her current tour, which has been ongoing for about a year, the American superstar is tapping into the spending power of fans who have seen higher wages post-COVID-19 and are eager to splurge to see her perform live.

It’s not just the tickets that are expensive; she’s making money from merchandise sales too. Shirts are priced at S$60 while hoodies go for over S$100.

Imagine how many plates of cai png you can buy with that.

Singapore Paid Swift Swiftly For Exclusivity

If you’re late to the news, Singapore actually paid the pop-star to make Singapore her only stop in South-east Asia.

It is believed that the Government paid her between S$2.5 to S$4 million to secure this exclusive deal.

You can read all about how Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong woo-ed her here.

The reason for this calculated move was swiftonomics.

Where Taylor Swift goes, money follows, causing economic booms in any country she performs in.

As Singapore is her only stop in South-east Asia, many fans from neighbouring countries flew in to catch her last week.

Swift performed six shows in Singapore to a total of 330,000 fans, many of which came from overseas.

CNA even found that the demand for flights and accommodations around the dates of Swift’s concerts in Singapore increased by up to 30%.

On top of that, foreigners also buy food and souvenirs, and visit local attractions here like Gardens by the Bay, further contributing to the economic boost.

It seems the sum of money paid for exclusivity was a small price to pay for the huge economic boom Swift has brought.

Singapore’s GDP to Benefit 

According to a Bloomberg survey, Singapore Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to expand 2.9% in the first quarter of 2024.

This will be the quickest GDP growth in six quarters, according to the median estimate in the survey.

This forecast was upgraded by economists, attributing gains in part to Taylor Swift’s tour.

Yes, the effects of swiftonomics are so large-scale that experts actually upgraded forecasts.

The economists also raised the annual growth expectation from 2.3% to 2.5%. This is towards the upper end of the Government’s forecast range of 1-3% for 2024.

For the last quarter of 2023, Singapore’s GDP was found to have increased by 2.2% year-on-year, lower than the projection of 2.8%. A year-on-year growth rate refers to the percentage change in real GDP from the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

This was, however, an acceleration from the 1% growth in the third quarter.

The economy grew by 1.1% in 2023, just slightly below the Government’s estimate of 1.2%

In the Bloomberg report, DBS economist Chua Han Teng estimates that the concerts will add around S$300 to 400 million to Singapore’s economy in the first quarter.

Outlook Remains Fragile

Although the upgraded forecast for Singapore’s first-quarter growth looks good, economists surveyed by Bloomberg said that the outlook remains fragile for the trade-reliant economy amid tight global interest rates.

As a small and open economy, Singapore is extremely reliant on trade with other countries to generate GDP.

When you look at a large and less open economy like the United States, it is much easier for them to generate GDP from consumer spending. Singapore, on the other hand, has to rely on net exports.

Last month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade noted that there are still potential factors that could increase inflation.

These include new disruptions in global energy and shipping costs caused by geopolitical tensions, as well as elevated food commodity prices resulting from unfavorable weather conditions.

Contrary to popular belief, inflation is actually desirable. That is, only if it is at a low level.

Low, stable, and predictable inflation are good for an economy as it can help drive economic growth.

Low inflation motivates consumers to spend rather than save, since the purchasing power of their money decreases over time. The more people spend, the more our economy is boosted.

However, high inflation can easily erode the real income and purchasing power of consumers. High inflation will disproportionately impact lower-income consumers and can cause painful recessions.

The economists note it is good to be cautious despite the positive projections for Singapore’s first-quarter growth.

Over in TikTok, there’s a drama involving property agents that’s caused by us. Here’s what happened:

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Kimi Tan