Singapore as a nation is often seen as being materialistic when compared to its regional peers, with a 2012 study by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy’s Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) finding that even Singaporeans view their society as kiasu (afraid to lose), competitive and materialistic.Regardless of whether this reputation is deserved, it points towards larger socioeconomic trends in the island republic which are driving the current social fabric at its most fundamental level.