KUALA LUMPUR – Singapore’s Public Service Division (PSD) is reviewing claims that civil servants disproportionately bought private homes near planned MRT stations before their locations were publicly announced.
The PSD said it was examining the data and methodology used in an academic working paper published by the US-based National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
The division said on September 14 that it would refer the matter to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) “if there is a material basis to do so”.
“We take any integrity concerns extremely seriously,” a PSD spokesperson said in response to media queries, according to Singapore media reports.
The NBER paper, titled “Do Social Norms Substitute for Enforcement? Evidence from Public Officials’ Home Purchases in Singapore”, was published this month.
It was authored by Tomasz Piskorski of Columbia University, Amit Seru and Chun Zhao of Stanford University, and Jian Zhang of the University of Hong Kong.
The researchers examined whether strong pro-integrity social norms could act as a substitute for formal enforcement in deterring misconduct by public officials.
The study analysed housing transactions linked to planned expansions of Singapore’s MRT network, using what the researchers described as “universe-level housing transactions”.
According to the paper, the researchers compiled private-property transaction records from legal filings in Singapore before matching buyers with the Singapore Government Directory Interactive, an online database of public officers.
They then traced the transaction histories of civil servants and examined property purchases made near planned MRT stations before the locations were publicly announced.
The researchers reported that buying activity around planned MRT stations was higher among civil servants than a control group of non-civil servants with similar demographic characteristics and housing consumption patterns.
The effect was strongest one to two years before the stations were publicly announced, particularly among mid-level officials and employees of agencies involved in rail planning, the researchers said.
The paper claimed the transactions resulted in “meaningful private gains” and said a similar pattern was observed among relatives of civil servants, which the researchers said was consistent with possible information leakage.
The authors also acknowledged several individuals, including economist Li Shengwu, the estranged nephew of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, saying they had “benefited immensely from discussions” with them.
The acknowledgements also named current and former academics from the National University of Singapore, including Sumit Agarwal, Jessica Pan, Ivan Png and Bernard Yeung.
However, the paper has not undergone peer review.
The NBER describes such papers as working papers circulated for discussion and comment, and notes that they have not been peer-reviewed or reviewed by the NBER board of directors in the manner of its official publications.
Peer review involves independent assessment by experts to evaluate a study’s methodology, validity and findings.
The PSD’s review will therefore focus on the data and methodology behind the researchers’ claims before any further action is considered. — September 15, 2026