The millennium was a turning point for economic inequality in Singapore. From the year 2000, an income gap that was narrowing turned the corner and began to widen. The wages of skilled, top earners began to pull away from unskilled workers at the bottom, whose incomes had stagnated. SMU Associate Dean and Professor of Economics Hoon Hian Teck's research showed that from 2000 to 2010, the economy moved decisively away from manufacturing to high-end services. For example, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the manufacturing sector, as a ratio of gross domestic product, shrank from 36 per cent to 21 per cent over this period, however, FDI in the financial and insurance services sector grew from 36 per cent to 43 per cent. This exacerbated the skills premium for high-end workers as demand for them grew faster than supply, Prof Hoon explained. He added that boosting transfers will help acceptance of income inequality. This is because inequality is then seen as a necessary way to generate the fiscal resources needed to subsidise the disadvantaged.