Policymakers isolated and myopic view on the policy application process often makes public policies ineffective. The conventional policymaking practice also lacks considerations on the various needs of industry participants and their response to public policies. To address this issue, a model-based approach, which can examine the effectiveness of public policies in a systematic manner, is presented with an application example of the Singapore governments policies to enhance construction productivity. Using a system dynamics model, the governmental policies are tested in a qualitative and quantitative manner.
Having obtained policy implications from the model structure and simulation results, suggestions and guidelines are provided to make the governmental policies more effective. Finally, based on the research findings, it is highlighted how public policymaking can benefit from a model-based approach.