SINGAPORE - A historical plague that killed more than a third of Europe's population may offer insights into how Singapore should deal with the social and economic costs of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, said Nominated MP Walter Theseira.

These include the failure of a market system to value low-wage workers - many of whom are on the front line of the country's outbreak response - and whether economic and social institutions are resilient enough to deal with such shocks, he said on Thursday (Feb 27).

From the 14th to 15th century, the Black Death, also known as the Plague, destroyed not only populations but also the prevailing social and economic orders.

Measures in countries like England that controlled wages eventually led to revolt, and governments realised belatedly that inequality weakened society's ability to resist the Plague, said Associate Professor Theseira, who teaches economics at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

While the poor could not afford treatment, not treating them risked spreading the disease to others. Towns eventually hired special doctors to treat both rich and poor without payment.

"Necessity is the mother of public health," Prof Theseira quipped.

Similarly, Covid-19, the coronavirus disease, is a threat to the current social order that has revealed its current weaknesses, he said.

But it is also an opportunity to strengthen these weaknesses within Singapore's economy, he added.

First, while Singapore has put much store on the myth of market forces and how wages may reflect productivity, these often fail to reflect true social value, said Prof Theseira.

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For example, while cleaners bear more risk, work harder and do much more to protect others during the outbreak, they still get the same pay.

Second, Prof Theseira said short-sighted consideration of only the economy's efficiency overlooks other important factors, like resilience.

Singapore's thriving private medical sector has made it a hub during normal times, but business there has slowed during the outbreak, he noted.

At the same time, general practitioners and public hospitals are severely stretched.

Additionally, to keep public healthcare costs low, appointments for subsidised healthcare are made as tightly as possible to extract the most out of manpower and equipment, he said.

But this also means in times of crisis, Singapore risks lacking spare capacity to deal with sudden surges in demand, meaning existing medical staff need to work overtime.

With such failures in market forces, the Government needs to step in, he said.

"Let me suggest that this year, we orient all efforts towards protecting and even increasing the wages of lower-paid Singaporeans," he added.

Prof Theseira suggested paying for this by restructuring wages for higher-paying jobs, including those held by his fellow parliamentarians who are leaders in their own professions.

"If we don't have the words to express our gratitude, then at least let us have the dollars."

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More fundamentally, Prof Theseira said the Covid-19 outbreak brings up questions on social risk-sharing institutions, whether for unemployment, housing, or healthcare, and if they are resilient and sufficient.

Today, a lot falls on charities or the Government to enact strong policies during "major shocks" like Covid-19, as Singapore does not have many automatic risk-sharing measures in place, he said.

"This is both a strength and a weakness because resilience depends on the performance of the political leadership of the day. Events near to us show that this cannot be guaranteed," said Prof Theseira.

Although the coronavirus outbreak does not seem like it will turn into a disaster like the Black Death, he hopes that history will not repeat itself.

"We have to continue the work of strengthening and restructuring our economic and social institutions, to ensure that when the next test comes, Singapore will stand as resilient as it has today," he said.