PRAGMATISM has long been the hallmark of the Singapore government. The government prides itself on being devoid of ideology, and on being highly responsive and adaptive: when the facts change, policies soon follow to reflect new realities. Most times, the government also makes policies on the basis of evidence rather than dogma. Where there is uncertainty, the government carries out pilots or experiments to test for effectiveness.

This rational, evidence-based approach to policymaking has served Singapore well. It explains why most policies go with the grain of incentives, why government programmes or subsidies are seldom subject to widespread abuse, and why policies generally work as intended. In short, there are few egregiously inefficient policies in Singapore.

At the same time, it is no secret that the government's pragmatism is combined with a high degree of paternalism. Paternalism is not necessarily a bad thing. In recent years, governments around the world have started to take seriously the findings of behavioural economists that people often lack the cognitive ability or willpower (in many instances, both) to do what is in their own long-term interests. These findings help to explain why many of us do not save enough for retirement even though we know we should - and, indeed, want to save more. Behavioural economics also explains why in assessing risks, we pay too much attention to things, events or stories that are more vivid and recallable, rather than to actual probabilities.