Getting the picture right on wage share in Singapore

The wage component of GDP offers a useful glimpse of the overall structure of an economy, but cannot be a complete guide to its complexities and longer-term trends.

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The gross domestic product (GDP) of a country is essentially the sum of all value-add in the country. It is the value, or wealth, generated in the country.

Part of the value-add goes to wages, the rest goes to capital and other components. When people discuss whether labour, or workers, is getting a fair share, they look at the wage share of GDP in a country.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 12, 2018, with the headline Getting the picture right on wage share in Singapore. Subscribe