- School of Economics, Finance & Banking (SEFB)
College of Business (COB)
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)
06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia
H/P: +6018 246 7050; Office: +604 928 6909; Fax: +604 928 6752
Email: rony000@gmail.com / mahmudul@uum.edu.my - +60182467050
- Economics, Finance/Accounting, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Business studies, Ecological Economics, and 23 moreEnvironment and Development, Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate change policy, Climate Change Impacts, Climate Change and Food Security, Climate Change in Developing Countries, Environmental Sustainability, Risk and Vulnerability, Sustainable Tourism, Religion, Livelihood, Sociology, Poverty, Development Economics, Economic Development, Islamic Economics, Rural Development, Tourism Studies, Microfinance, Investment, and Public Private Partnershipsedit
- Dr. Md. Mahmudul Alam is an Associate Professor of Finance and Senior Research Fellow at Universiti Utara Malaysia an... moreDr. Md. Mahmudul Alam is an Associate Professor of Finance and Senior Research Fellow at Universiti Utara Malaysia and an Associate Fellow at University Technology MARA, Malaysia. He is a certified Financial Planner and certified Expert in Climate Adaptation Finance. He was awarded the AFFP Research Fellowship from Frankfurt School (Germany) & TDRI (Thailand) and was also recognized by the BDRC (USA) as one of the “Top Bangladesh Development Researchers of the Millennium”. He has more than one million readers in different online repository platforms. His research interests include financial markets, financial literacy, Islamic finance, sustainable finance, and sustainable development.edit
Development Issues, Policies and Actions are intended as a book of readings on development for the general readers and for the undergraduate and graduate students of development as a supplement to the textbook on economic development. It... more
Development Issues, Policies and Actions are intended as a book of readings on development for the general readers and for the undergraduate and graduate students of development as a supplement to the textbook on economic development. It is written with materials mostly taken from our recent research works on current development issues and policy actions in Malaysia and Bangladesh. As a result, we believe that the intended readers and students will find the materials fairly known and easier to read and comprehend.
To make the book more reader-friendly, we provided a comprehensive summary at the end of each essay. Readers who are time pressed but want to know the basic contents and the key messages of the essays at the shortest time at hand, can do so by reading the summaries of the essays.
An additional and special feature of this book is that it emphasizes on the holistic and ethical aspects of development. This aspect is least covered by most standard textbooks on the subject. In that sense this book will serve as a make up for the deficiencies of the text book materials in terms of ethical orientation, essence, and higher goals of development.
We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of the publishers and authors of all the research works from where the materials have been compiled for use in this book. Similarly, we are profoundly thankful to all the scholars, particularly to Prof. Golam Dastagir of Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, and Prof. Munir Quddus of Prairie View A&M University, Texas, for their critical comments on the draft of the book. Specially, we are profoundly thankful and grateful to Prof. Datuk Dr. Syed Othman Alhabshi for writing the scholarly foreword of this book. Finally, we remain thankful to Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia and the International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh for jointly publishing this book.
The Authors
Dated: February, 2012
To make the book more reader-friendly, we provided a comprehensive summary at the end of each essay. Readers who are time pressed but want to know the basic contents and the key messages of the essays at the shortest time at hand, can do so by reading the summaries of the essays.
An additional and special feature of this book is that it emphasizes on the holistic and ethical aspects of development. This aspect is least covered by most standard textbooks on the subject. In that sense this book will serve as a make up for the deficiencies of the text book materials in terms of ethical orientation, essence, and higher goals of development.
We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of the publishers and authors of all the research works from where the materials have been compiled for use in this book. Similarly, we are profoundly thankful to all the scholars, particularly to Prof. Golam Dastagir of Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, and Prof. Munir Quddus of Prairie View A&M University, Texas, for their critical comments on the draft of the book. Specially, we are profoundly thankful and grateful to Prof. Datuk Dr. Syed Othman Alhabshi for writing the scholarly foreword of this book. Finally, we remain thankful to Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Malaysia and the International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh for jointly publishing this book.
The Authors
Dated: February, 2012
Research Interests:
There is no denying the fact that microcredit (MC) has been playing an important role in the movement for poverty alleviation. But by the same breath it is also a hard fact that it has serious limitations in terms of its delivery system,... more
There is no denying the fact that microcredit (MC) has been playing an important role in the movement for poverty alleviation. But by the same breath it is also a hard fact that it has serious limitations in terms of its delivery system, rules of repayment, interest rate charges, etc. These limitations made it largely fail to realize its potential and expected goals. A credible study on the productivity of MC was required to determine its actual interest/profit paying capability. In the absence of any established economic justification, based on productivity, this exorbitantly high interest rate is found morally untenable and has become the primary target of criticism for its minimal or marginal achievements. As a result, recently the government rightfully fixed 27% as the maximum interest rate chargeable for microcredit (with effect from July 2011).
However, we need not undermine the importance and efforts of the microcredit movement, both as an economic as well as a social institution, for the betterment of the poor in the society. We need not be selfish and miser to give the movement its due credit. MC should not be summarily viewed as unuseful and unsuccessful. It has been making some contributions to the betterment of the poor and it should be given the appreciation it deserves. But like many other researchers we are troubled by the contradicting attitudes of the microcredit providers toward the borrowers. In one hand they are concerned and committed to pull the poor out of poverty, on the other hand they are so harsh in the timely payment of repayment installments putting a blind eye to the sufferings of these poor borrowers. Therefore, MCIs need to be more innovative to be able to serve and take care of the wellbeing of the critical group among the borrowers. We are also puzzled to see that in spite of the exorbitantly high interest rate charges and all other limitations, increasing number of these poor are borrowing credit from these MCIs. This surgical study on the inside view of microcredit in Bangladesh, using a rich data set developed through a survey of 555 sample borrowers from rural, semi-urban, and urban areas of all 7 administrative divisions of Bangladesh, is an effort to address these issues and find answers to these and other questions like its potentiality to become a growth tool in the third sector economy.
To our own best assessment this study made three major contributions to microcredit literature: a) application of economic-profit counting method in economic productivity analysis, b) identification of the critically vulnerable group among the borrowers; and c) the revelation that microcredit is respected by the borrowers more as a social than economic institution. To them, microcredit has facilitated their social and political empowerments and safeguarded their social status.
An additional feature of this monograph is that it includes a chapter reflecting on the status of Islamic microcredit in the country.
We are thankful to the sample micro borrowers for their sincere cooperation and responses in the operation of this research. We are equally thankful to the field investigators for their honest and untiring search for information. We are thankful to Professor Dr. Abu Bakr Rafique Ahmed, Pro Vice-Chancellor of International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh for his most valuable suggestion to include in the book a separate chapter on Islamic microfinance. This chapter has certainly enhanced the focus of the monograph. Lastly we are grateful to Professor Dr. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury of University of Western Sydney, Australia, and Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York, for writing a thoughtful foreword to this work.
The authors
However, we need not undermine the importance and efforts of the microcredit movement, both as an economic as well as a social institution, for the betterment of the poor in the society. We need not be selfish and miser to give the movement its due credit. MC should not be summarily viewed as unuseful and unsuccessful. It has been making some contributions to the betterment of the poor and it should be given the appreciation it deserves. But like many other researchers we are troubled by the contradicting attitudes of the microcredit providers toward the borrowers. In one hand they are concerned and committed to pull the poor out of poverty, on the other hand they are so harsh in the timely payment of repayment installments putting a blind eye to the sufferings of these poor borrowers. Therefore, MCIs need to be more innovative to be able to serve and take care of the wellbeing of the critical group among the borrowers. We are also puzzled to see that in spite of the exorbitantly high interest rate charges and all other limitations, increasing number of these poor are borrowing credit from these MCIs. This surgical study on the inside view of microcredit in Bangladesh, using a rich data set developed through a survey of 555 sample borrowers from rural, semi-urban, and urban areas of all 7 administrative divisions of Bangladesh, is an effort to address these issues and find answers to these and other questions like its potentiality to become a growth tool in the third sector economy.
To our own best assessment this study made three major contributions to microcredit literature: a) application of economic-profit counting method in economic productivity analysis, b) identification of the critically vulnerable group among the borrowers; and c) the revelation that microcredit is respected by the borrowers more as a social than economic institution. To them, microcredit has facilitated their social and political empowerments and safeguarded their social status.
An additional feature of this monograph is that it includes a chapter reflecting on the status of Islamic microcredit in the country.
We are thankful to the sample micro borrowers for their sincere cooperation and responses in the operation of this research. We are equally thankful to the field investigators for their honest and untiring search for information. We are thankful to Professor Dr. Abu Bakr Rafique Ahmed, Pro Vice-Chancellor of International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh for his most valuable suggestion to include in the book a separate chapter on Islamic microfinance. This chapter has certainly enhanced the focus of the monograph. Lastly we are grateful to Professor Dr. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury of University of Western Sydney, Australia, and Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York, for writing a thoughtful foreword to this work.
The authors
There is no denying the fact that microcredit has been playing an important role in the movement for poverty alleviation. But its serious limitations in terms of delivery system, rules of repayment, interest rate charges, etc are also... more
There is no denying the fact that microcredit has been playing an important role in the movement for poverty alleviation. But its serious limitations in terms of delivery system, rules of repayment, interest rate charges, etc are also undeniable. These limitations have made it unable to fully realize its goal and aspirations. A credible study like this was required to determine its economic & social productivity and actual interest paying capability. Applying the economic-profit counting method of analysis, it finds that for as many as 48% borrowers microcredit is not economically that productive to be able to pay so high interest. The study made three major contributions to literature: application of economic-profit counting method in economic productivity analysis, identification of the critically vulnerable group among the borrowers; and that borrowers regard microcredit more as a social than economic institution for facilitating and safeguarding their social and political empowerment.
“…this is an important contribution and should enhance our understanding of the impact of microfinance on poverty.” – Prof. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations
Keywords: Grameen Bank, Microcredit, Microfinance, Microenterprise
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Story-Microcredit-Bangladesh-Investigation/dp/384659251X/
“…this is an important contribution and should enhance our understanding of the impact of microfinance on poverty.” – Prof. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, United Nations
Keywords: Grameen Bank, Microcredit, Microfinance, Microenterprise
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Story-Microcredit-Bangladesh-Investigation/dp/384659251X/
Micro-entrepreneurial activities play a pivotal role in rural economic development in the third world countries. As a result, in Bangladesh poverty alleviation through rural centric micro-entrepreneurship development has been focused for... more
Micro-entrepreneurial activities play a pivotal role in rural economic development in the third world countries. As a result, in Bangladesh poverty alleviation through rural centric micro-entrepreneurship development has been focused for more than thirty five years. Over 600 registered and thousands unregistered microcredit organizations including globally prominent institutions like Grameen Bank, BRAC, ASA, BARD, ActionAid, CARE etc. are operating here with their own reputed models. However, the micro-entrepreneurship development and its achievements in the country are still lagging behind a satisfactory level due to a number of prevailing factors. This book examines its major achievements and shortcomings from the perspectives of the structured institutions, non-structured institutions, and non-institutional factors, and government’s policy guidelines influencing development of micro-entrepreneurship, and makes recommendations for overcoming the shortcomings.
KEY WORDS: microentrepreneurship, microenterprise, petty traders, poverty alleviation, MFIs, NGOs, microcredit
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Microentrepreneurship-Development-Bangladesh-Mahmudul-Alam/dp/3838330447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269706491&sr=1-1
KEY WORDS: microentrepreneurship, microenterprise, petty traders, poverty alleviation, MFIs, NGOs, microcredit
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Microentrepreneurship-Development-Bangladesh-Mahmudul-Alam/dp/3838330447/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269706491&sr=1-1
Research Interests:
The changing nature of climatic factor has adverse impacts on agricultural sustainability, food security, and socioeconomic sustainability in many countries. In Malaysia, due to the rapid changes in climatic conditions, agricultural... more
The changing nature of climatic factor has adverse impacts on agricultural sustainability, food security, and socioeconomic sustainability in many countries. In Malaysia, due to the rapid changes in climatic conditions, agricultural productivity and profitability are expected to decline in the future leading to agricultural unsustainability. At the same time, the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers are boldly changing. This empirical study investigates the vulnerability and impacts of climate change on agriculture, especially on paddy sector, and the socioeconomic status of the farmers, as well as their farming and livelihood adaptation approaches in Malaysia. Based on the findings, it provides policy recommendations and action plans for different stakeholders to adapt and cope with climate change properly. As this is also the common phenomenon for many countries, the governments, international organizations and other agencies involve in climate change issues will greatly benefit from the findings of the study.
KEY WORDS: Climate Change; Food security; Agricultural Sustainability; Socioeconomic Study; Adaptation; Agricultural Subsidy; Malaysia; Paddy Productivity; Poverty; Income Inequality
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Socioeconomic-Study-Climate-Change-Sustainability/dp/3838352106/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273518455&sr=8-2
KEY WORDS: Climate Change; Food security; Agricultural Sustainability; Socioeconomic Study; Adaptation; Agricultural Subsidy; Malaysia; Paddy Productivity; Poverty; Income Inequality
Link: http://www.amazon.com/Socioeconomic-Study-Climate-Change-Sustainability/dp/3838352106/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273518455&sr=8-2
Research Interests:
The net contribution of the decomposed measures of foreign direct investment (FDIs), e.g., the inward and outward flows of FDIs, to domestic investment is still inconclusive in the case of underdeveloped and developing countries. The... more
The net contribution of the decomposed measures of foreign direct investment (FDIs), e.g., the inward and outward flows of FDIs, to domestic investment is still inconclusive in the case of underdeveloped and developing countries. The current literature bears testimony to this fact. Hence, this research examines the impact of inward and outward foreign direct investments (FDIs) on the domestic investment in Bangladesh. This study considers annual time series data from 1976 to 2019 and estimates this data property under the augmented ARDL approach to cointegration. In addition, this research employs the dynamic ARDL simulation technique in order to forecast the counterfactual shock of the regressors and their effects on the dependent variable. The results from the augmented ARDL method suggest that the inward FDI has a positive impact on domestic investment, while the outward FDI is inconsequential in both the long run and the short run. Besides, our estimated findings also show the economic growth's long-run and short-run favorable effects on domestic investment. At the same time, there is no significant impact of real interest rates and institutional quality on domestic investment in the long run or the short run in Bangladesh. In addition, the counterfactual shocks (10% positive and negative) to inward FDI positively impact domestic investment, indicating the crowding-in effect of the inward FDI on the domestic investment in Bangladesh. As the inward FDI flow is a significant determinant for sustained domestic investment in Bangladesh, the policy strategy must fuel the local firms by utilizing crossborder investment.
Research Interests:
Purpose: This research investigates the influence of creativity and resource availability on career competencies and career success of entrepreneurs in Nigeria using the Intelligent Career Framework. Design/methodology/approach: Data was... more
Purpose: This research investigates the influence of creativity and resource availability on career competencies and career success of entrepreneurs in Nigeria using the Intelligent Career Framework.
Design/methodology/approach: Data was obtained using answers to questionnaires given to 348 successful entrepreneurs. The data was analysed using non-parametric software (Smart-PLS).
Finding: The results indicate that entrepreneurs who understand “know-why”, “know-how”, and “know-whom” can access the required resources and are doing well in their careers. It is suggested that these competencies were significantly related to entrepreneurial career success. Resource availability moderates the relationship of knowing-how, knowing-why competencies and career success, while creativity moderates only the link between knowing-whom and entrepreneurs having successful careers.
Research limitations/implications: The results help us to comprehend better the nature of successful entrepreneurial careers and the prominent role of tripartite competencies in achieving a successful career. Also emphasised here is the prominence of a more holistic perspective of these components based on a mix of social, motivational, and human capital.
Practical implications: These findings hinted that entrepreneur should pay uniform consideration in fostering each career competency. There are implications for career advisers, practitioners, and entrepreneurship programs.
Originality/value: This is a first-of-its-kind research that used primary source data in understanding career competencies - “knowing-how, knowing-whom, and knowing-why” - with entrepreneurs' career success in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach: Data was obtained using answers to questionnaires given to 348 successful entrepreneurs. The data was analysed using non-parametric software (Smart-PLS).
Finding: The results indicate that entrepreneurs who understand “know-why”, “know-how”, and “know-whom” can access the required resources and are doing well in their careers. It is suggested that these competencies were significantly related to entrepreneurial career success. Resource availability moderates the relationship of knowing-how, knowing-why competencies and career success, while creativity moderates only the link between knowing-whom and entrepreneurs having successful careers.
Research limitations/implications: The results help us to comprehend better the nature of successful entrepreneurial careers and the prominent role of tripartite competencies in achieving a successful career. Also emphasised here is the prominence of a more holistic perspective of these components based on a mix of social, motivational, and human capital.
Practical implications: These findings hinted that entrepreneur should pay uniform consideration in fostering each career competency. There are implications for career advisers, practitioners, and entrepreneurship programs.
Originality/value: This is a first-of-its-kind research that used primary source data in understanding career competencies - “knowing-how, knowing-whom, and knowing-why” - with entrepreneurs' career success in Nigeria.
Research Interests:
Purpose – This paper aims to compare the perceptions of Islamic bank customers concerning FinTech services in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. It also investigates the level to which customers are willing to adapt FinTech services.... more
Purpose – This paper aims to compare the perceptions of Islamic bank customers concerning FinTech services in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. It also investigates the level to which customers are willing to adapt FinTech services.
Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected from May to September 2019 using a questionnaire to survey 102 Islamic bank customers in Malaysia, and 147 in Saudi Arabia.The data are analysed based on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) approach.
Findings – The findings show that knowledge, attitude, and subjective norms are the highly significant determining factors that influence customers’ opinions on adapting to new technology, but awareness demonstrates only a moderately positive effect. Moreover, the impact of these factors on the intention to adopt FinTech services significantly differs between Malaysian and Saudi Arabian customers.
Originality/value – This is an original study based on primary data on customers of Islamic banking in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. It provides some novel insights into how the Islamic banking industry can boost customers’ confidence and enhance their patronage by adopting FinTech in their business operation model. These findings should be of value to managers, policymakers, and regulators in the Islamic banking industry in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected from May to September 2019 using a questionnaire to survey 102 Islamic bank customers in Malaysia, and 147 in Saudi Arabia.The data are analysed based on Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) approach.
Findings – The findings show that knowledge, attitude, and subjective norms are the highly significant determining factors that influence customers’ opinions on adapting to new technology, but awareness demonstrates only a moderately positive effect. Moreover, the impact of these factors on the intention to adopt FinTech services significantly differs between Malaysian and Saudi Arabian customers.
Originality/value – This is an original study based on primary data on customers of Islamic banking in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. It provides some novel insights into how the Islamic banking industry can boost customers’ confidence and enhance their patronage by adopting FinTech in their business operation model. These findings should be of value to managers, policymakers, and regulators in the Islamic banking industry in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
Research Interests:
The national security issues in particular non-traditional security issues such as law enforcement, health, food, supply chain management, industry etc. are severely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak in all countries of the world. As... more
The national security issues in particular non-traditional security issues such as law enforcement, health, food, supply chain management, industry etc. are severely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak in all countries of the world. As such, the developing country like Indonesia has largely been suffering from this epidemic. In this context, this paper attempts to analyse some national security issues that are affecting Indonesia, which is currently struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Proposed here are policy measures to combat both present and future challenges. The study uses secondary data collected from different sources concerning COVID-19 pandemic and security issues of Indonesia. The study analyses the data based on descriptive statistics, highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Indonesian law enforcement issues, and security of health, food, supply chain management, industrial and other economic sectors. The study argues that if the vulnerability continues in these security-related issues due to pandemic, the country will face a harsh reality to manage the state-affairs. Therefore, the policy options are mainly concerned with the COVID-19 issue. Indonesia's government should identify what measures to take by conducting rapid diagnostics (RPD) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in the laboratory, respectively. Moreover, the government and relevant stakeholders need to develop strategies that break the stranglehold of COVID-19 transmission in order to resolve Indonesian national security concern.
Research Interests:
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings are widely recognised methods to assess the sustainability practices of corporations. However, the scores of these ratings are not satisfactory in emerging market economies. This study... more
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings are widely recognised methods to assess the sustainability practices of corporations. However, the scores of these ratings are not satisfactory in emerging market economies. This study examines the financial factors that influence ESG ratings regarding public listed companies on the FTSE4 Good Bursa Malaysia Index (F4GBM Index). This paper uses static and dynamic Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) techniques to analyse the data of 31 public listed companies on the F4GBM Index and reported full ESG ratings data for the period 2007-2016. To utilise the maximum number of observations by avoiding the missing data and outlier due to COVID-19, this study applied the sample data up to 2016. Using the two-step system dynamic GMM estimator, such results indicate that highly profitable Malaysian companies enjoy a higher score for ESG overall ratings as well as all three individual ratings. Poorer credit management diminishes the environmental ratings, yet increases overall scores such as the social and governance scores. Companies with higher leverage have a weaker social, governance and overall score, but a higher environmental rating. Finally, companies eliciting a higher sustainable growth rate have weak governance and overall scores. This study provides empirical evidence that will be useful to capital market investors, management teams of these companies and policymakers in their efforts to promote responsible investment in Malaysian public listed companies in line with UN-PRI policy.
Research Interests:
The clean energy transitions require a large volume of minerals to handle its diverse technologies, such as solar photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines etc. Therefore, mineral importing countries concentrated on cleaner energy production... more
The clean energy transitions require a large volume of minerals to handle its diverse technologies, such as solar photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines etc. Therefore, mineral importing countries concentrated on cleaner energy production confront an uprising trend in critical mineral prices due to thriving demands. We quest for the response of the top mineral importing countries' import demand for minerals to the clean energy transitions from 1996 to 2019 within the import-demand function analysis. Using the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) method, our findings divulge a significantly positive response of mineral import demand to solar and wind energy productions in the long run. We also find that mineral price elasticity holds the Marshallian demand hypothesis in the mineral-laden solar energy generation while contradicting it in wind energy production. In addition, the oil price substitution effect does not sustain, whereas exchange rate depreciates mineral import demands in the long run. Therefore, our policy implications encompass optimizing the mineral resources for clean energy transitions to materialize the 21st century's global agenda of a decarbonized or net-zero emissions trajectory.
Research Interests:
Purpose: This study examines whether corporate governance enhances the financial and social business performance of three- to five-star hotels in Western Australia through the three dimensions of market orientation (i.e., customer... more
Purpose: This study examines whether corporate governance enhances the financial and social business performance of three- to five-star hotels in Western Australia through the three dimensions of market orientation (i.e., customer orientation, competitor orientation, and inter-function coordination) as mediators.
Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from managers of hotels in the WA capital city of Perth and its surrounding areas using a questionnaire. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data.
Findings: The overall result shows interesting findings of market orientation's mediating role. It is found that corporate governance may lead to better financial business performance through competitor orientation, but not through customer orientation and inter-function coordination. Complementary, corporate governance may lead to better social business performance through customer orientation and inter-function coordination, but not through competitor orientation.
Originality: This paper offers contributions to both literature and practice on what dimensions of market orientation are important to enhance the performance of hotels when corporate governance is applied.
Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from managers of hotels in the WA capital city of Perth and its surrounding areas using a questionnaire. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data.
Findings: The overall result shows interesting findings of market orientation's mediating role. It is found that corporate governance may lead to better financial business performance through competitor orientation, but not through customer orientation and inter-function coordination. Complementary, corporate governance may lead to better social business performance through customer orientation and inter-function coordination, but not through competitor orientation.
Originality: This paper offers contributions to both literature and practice on what dimensions of market orientation are important to enhance the performance of hotels when corporate governance is applied.
Research Interests:
National governments and their development partners have considered microcredit as a strategic tool for vulnerable populations. Easy access to finance increases the client's ability to invest and allows clients to use resources to change... more
National governments and their development partners have considered microcredit as a strategic tool for vulnerable populations. Easy access to finance increases the client's ability to invest and allows clients to use resources to change their behaviour, increase their business opportunities and create employment. This paper aims to review studies that focused on microcredit and employment issues affecting beneficiaries, including gender-based employment creation and the informal sector. Through a systematic search of electronic databases and keywords to identify relevant studies, 40 core articles are identified for the period 1998-2021. The results indicate the significant impacts of microcredit on women's employment creation and business revenue of microenterprises in the informal sector. Moreover, a few studies set out to integrate gender employment creation and the informal sector with reference to microcredit. A framework is proposed to address the relationship between employment structure and microcredit. Finally, this study recommends developing a financial social accounting matrix and run empirical analysis on macro modelling such as input-output or general equilibrium modelling. Doing so will help obtain better understanding of how microcredit participation is associated with employment creation in different sectors and different types of household groups.
Research Interests:
Reduced electricity demand through the implementation of an energy efficiency policy is a central pillar of the Malaysian government’s energy strategy. Energy efficiency first emerged as part of Malaysia’s energy policy agenda in 1979 but... more
Reduced electricity demand through the implementation of an energy efficiency policy is a central pillar of the Malaysian government’s energy strategy. Energy efficiency first emerged as part of Malaysia’s energy policy agenda in 1979 but only came into force during the 2000s. Initially, it was seen from global fears about the shortage of fossil fuels, then as a way of combating climate change. This paper offers a comprehensive review of Malaysia’s energy policies with a focus on adopting policies to improve energy efficiency. Starting with Malaysia’s preliminary policy in response to the OPEC-driven global oil crisis in 1973, the paper discusses how policymakers are considering energy efficiency from Malaysia’s sustainable development perspective and what relevant government efforts have been made to improve it. The review evaluates the progress that has been made over the past 25 years to address energy efficiency in the economy and highlights the achievements and remaining difficulties. Findings show that the level of energy efficiency while having shown improvement during 1990-2015, was lower than expected. In terms of electricity intensity of GDP, Malaysia has a relatively large position among the ASEAN countries and the world’s largest electricity consumers. Researchers, scientists, and practitioners will benefit from the extensive review material of this study, which will help them better understand energy efficiency and the sustainability strategy implemented in Malaysia to date.
Research Interests:
Pandemics leave their mark quickly. This is true for all pandemics, including COVID-19. Its multifarious presence has wreaked havoc on people's physical, economic, and social life since late 2019. Despite the need for social science to... more
Pandemics leave their mark quickly. This is true for all pandemics, including COVID-19. Its multifarious presence has wreaked havoc on people's physical, economic, and social life since late 2019. Despite the need for social science to save lives, it is also critical to ensure future generations are protected. COVID-19 appeared as the world grappled with the epidemic of climate change. This study suggests policymakers and practitioners address climate change and COVID-19 together. This article offers a narrative review of both pandemics' impacts. Scopus and Web of Science were sought databases. The findings are reported analytically using important works of contemporary social theorists. The analysis focuses on three interconnected themes: technology advancements have harmed vulnerable people; pandemics have macro- and micro-dimensions; and structural disparities. To conclude, we believe that collaborative effort is the key to combating COVID-19 and climate change, while understanding the lessons learnt from the industrialised world. Finally, policymakers can decrease the impact of global catastrophes by addressing many socioeconomic concerns concurrently.
Research Interests:
The credit card market is very large and segmented by targeting different types of consumers. One type of credit card is one that specifically targets people in the education sector, for instance students, teachers and other staff... more
The credit card market is very large and segmented by targeting different types of consumers. One type of credit card is one that specifically targets people in the education sector, for instance students, teachers and other staff members. This study aims to compare the features of education and other credit cards in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: The study analyzes data concerning 234 credit cards by using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Findings: Out of 234 credit cards, this study found only two credit cards especially target education sector customers. The study evaluated thirteen features of these credit cards and found that only two features are statistically significantly different from other conventional credit cards in Malaysia. These features are interest rate and cash withdrawal charge fees. Originality/value: This is an original study based on compilation of data from secondary sources. The findings will provide valuable insights to financial regulatory policy-makers, academics, and business managers.
Research Interests:
This is a pre-publication copy. The published article is copyrighted by the publisher of the journal. Revisiting the energy-economy-environment relationships for attaining environmental sustainability: Evidence from Belt and Road... more
This is a pre-publication copy. The published article is copyrighted by the publisher of the journal. Revisiting the energy-economy-environment relationships for attaining environmental sustainability: Evidence from Belt and Road Initiative countries Abstract The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious development project initiated by the Chinese government to foster economic progress worldwide. This study aims to investigate the dynamics of energy, economy, and environment among 42 BRI developing countries using an annual frequency panel dataset from 1995 to 2019. The major findings from the econometric analysis revealed that higher degrees of energy consumption, economic growth, population growth rate, and FDI inflows exhibit adverse environmental consequences by boosting the CO2 emission figures of the selected developing BRI nations. However, it is interesting to observe that exploiting renewable energy sources, which are relatively cleaner compared to the traditionally-consumed fossil fuels, and fostering agricultural sector development can significantly improve environmental well-being by curbing the emission levels. On the other hand, financial development is found to be ineffective in explaining the variations in CO2 emission figures of the selected BRI member countries. Besides, the causality analysis shows that higher energy consumption, FDI inflows, and agricultural development cause environmental pollution by boosting carbon dioxide emissions. However, economic growth, technology development, financial progress, and renewable energy consumption are evidenced to exhibit bidirectional causal associations with carbon dioxide emissions. In line with these findings, several relevant policies can be recommended.
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The study aimed to provide additional insights on how supply chain management practices are used to promote sustainable development in line with Maqasid Al-Shariah principles of Islam. A multiple case study approach involving two major... more
The study aimed to provide additional insights on how supply chain management practices are used to promote sustainable development in line with Maqasid Al-Shariah principles of Islam. A multiple case study approach involving two major automotive firms in Malaysia was used to address key research issues. The results show that these SCM practices, viz. resources, information, integration, and relationship practices support the promotion of Maslahah for all human beings which is consistent with the aims of Maqasid Al-Shariah principles for sustainable development. The findings provide some guidance to facilitate the achievement of SDGs especially among Muslim countries through their SCM practices. Studies which examined SCM practices for sustainable development from an Islamic perspective are limited. Therefore, the present study aims to provide additional insights on how SCM practices are used to promote sustainable development in line with Maqasid Al-Shariah principles. Some SCM practices are congruent with Maqasid al-Shariah particularly when the practices are examined through the Islamic lens that focuses on the goal of creating value to mankind.
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There are many market segmentations in the credit card industry in Malaysia. One of the special categories of credit card is dedicated to the women group only and promoted as a tool for increasing women empowerment, women entrepreneurship... more
There are many market segmentations in the credit card industry in Malaysia. One of the special categories of credit card is dedicated to the women group only and promoted as a tool for increasing women empowerment, women entrepreneurship development and women financial access ability. Therefore, this study compares the features of credit cards dedicated to women and credit cards in general in Malaysia through descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA test. This study utilizes data of currently available total 234 unique credit cards including four credit cards dedicated to the women group. The data analyses 13 features of credit cards. Among them only two features of credit cards dedicated to women are statistically significantly different from credit cards in general, which are annual charge for balance transfer and cash back facility. Therefore, it is recommended to make more distinguish features in the credit cards that are dedicated to them to encourage more women entrepreneurship as well as to ensure their real financial empowerment. The outcomes of this research will provide useful interpretations to women consumers, business managers, NGOs, government agencies and other policymakers who are working on women's development issues.
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The study looked at the level of sustainable development, whether the institutional factors or often, the demographic changes over time, that might have an impact. The data was meticulously collected through 427 returned questionnaires... more
The study looked at the level of sustainable development, whether the institutional factors or often, the demographic changes over time, that might have an impact. The data was meticulously collected through 427 returned questionnaires among zakat recipients in eleven districts of Kedah, Malaysia, and it was thoroughly analysed using path techniques of the PLS-SEM. This study found that the asnaf receiving, very minimum assistance and that can hardly empower them. Accordingly, it's imperative that the fund needs to be geared towards long term productive use. The results support that the institutional contributory performance having a positive effect, and the level of sustainability do increase after receiving zakat, but there are issues that need careful addressing. The study further examined the moderating role of demographic factors, such as earnings, age, marital status and gender, and witnessed that after zakat, β value, R², ƒ², Q², CR all improved, though individual moderating variables yet to show any significance. The study initiated a newer dimension through incorporating before-zakat and after-zakat scenarios in examining the comparative impact on sustainability, and likewise understanding the recipient's level of Islamic self-actualisation.
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Zakat is compulsory charity in Islam to fight poverty and inequality, but there is a gap in literature concerning the performance of zakat in terms of achieving sustainable development for its recipients. Therefore, this study intends to... more
Zakat is compulsory charity in Islam to fight poverty and inequality, but there is a gap in literature concerning the performance of zakat in terms of achieving sustainable development for its recipients. Therefore, this study intends to assess the role of zakat in achieving the sustainable development status for recipients. This study collected primary data through a questionnaire survey among 440 zakat recipients from the Kedah State in Malaysia. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings reveal that zakat helps to improve the overall sustainable development status of its recipients, but the economic aspect improves more than the social and environmental aspects. Therefore, to ensure the success of zakat in line with the goals of achieving sustainable development for recipients as advocated by the United Nations, the policymakers and zakat administrators around the world and particularly in Malaysia need to focus on redesigning the zakat management program.
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The outbreak of COVID-19 has weakened the economy of Australia and its capital market since early 2020. The overall stock market has declined. However, some sectors become highly vulnerable while others continue to perform well even in... more
The outbreak of COVID-19 has weakened the economy of Australia and its capital market since early 2020. The overall stock market has declined. However, some sectors become highly vulnerable while others continue to perform well even in the crisis period. Given this new reality, we seek to investigate the initial volatility and the sectoral return. In this study, we analyse data for eight sectors such as, transportation, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, energy, food, real estate, telecommunications and technology of the Australian stock market. In doing so, we obtain data from Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and analysed them based on `Event Study' method. Here, we use the 10-days window for the event of official announcement of the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia on 27 February, 2020. The findings of the study show that on the day of announcement, the indices for food, pharmaceuticals and healthcare exhibit impressive positive returns. Following the announcement, the telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and healthcare sectors exhibit good performance, while poor performance is demonstrated by the transportation industry. The findings are vital for investors, market participants, companies, private and public policymakers and governments to develop recovery action plans for vulnerable sectors and enable investors to regain their confidence to make better investment decisions.
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Purpose: The real challenge of establishing and maintaining business ethics in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become a global issue. We investigated the driving forces of ethical practices (EP) and its contribution to the overall... more
Purpose: The real challenge of establishing and maintaining business ethics in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become a global issue. We investigated the driving forces of ethical practices (EP) and its contribution to the overall performance in businesses. Design/methodology/approach: This study collected primary data from 117 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia by using a well-designed questionnaire survey amongst SMEs and draw inferences using the structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis. Findings/results: Findings suggested that top management's characters and ethical commitment, ethical policy and culture of the organisation and external pressure positively influence the ethical practice in the organisation, which leads to a significant positive impact on both financial and non-financial performances of SMEs. But the level of fraud and corruption and the level of monitoring show a mixed moderating effect on the relationships between ethical practice in the organisation and business performance. Practical implications: The findings of this research will help SMEs' administrators and managers, as well as the companies to instil workplace ethics, which manages the level of business performance. The policymakers and other relevant authorities can also utilise the outcomes of this study to develop ethical policy guidelines and frameworks to improve SMEs' competitiveness and sustain their companies in the long run. Originality/value: The unique feature of this research is that both the causes and effects of EP are considered in one integrated model. This gives a more vivid picture of the ethical issue in a business organisation.
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This research assesses the influence of hosting major international sporting competitions on the host countries’ stock market performance before and after the announcement of such events. Specifically, this study explores whether stock... more
This research assesses the influence of hosting major international sporting competitions on
the host countries’ stock market performance before and after the announcement of such
events. Specifically, this study explores whether stock markets of hosting countries experience
cumulative average abnormal return (CAAR) during the aforementioned period. For the
purposes of investigation, the study considers announcements of the 18th Asian Games and
30th SEA Games hosted by Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively. The LQ45 index of the
Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and PSEi index of the Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE)
were chosen to test the significance of these events. It is found that only PSE has experienced
a significantly positive CAAR for the event. Findings of this study can make a significant
contribution to helping national governments and investors understand the significance of
sports to the economies of developing countries and how major sports events can improve stock
market efficiency.
the host countries’ stock market performance before and after the announcement of such
events. Specifically, this study explores whether stock markets of hosting countries experience
cumulative average abnormal return (CAAR) during the aforementioned period. For the
purposes of investigation, the study considers announcements of the 18th Asian Games and
30th SEA Games hosted by Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively. The LQ45 index of the
Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and PSEi index of the Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE)
were chosen to test the significance of these events. It is found that only PSE has experienced
a significantly positive CAAR for the event. Findings of this study can make a significant
contribution to helping national governments and investors understand the significance of
sports to the economies of developing countries and how major sports events can improve stock
market efficiency.
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Market orientation has been known as an efficient managerial tool to assist in sustaining the performance of organisations. Market orientation has three dimensions, namely customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-function... more
Market orientation has been known as an efficient managerial tool to assist in sustaining the performance of organisations. Market orientation has three dimensions, namely customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-function coordination. This paper evaluates how corporate governance influences the three dimensions of market orientation within Iran's upscale hotels. The impacts of the three dimensions of market orientation on the hotels' social and financial performance are also examined to determine if market orientation mediates the relationships between corporate governance and performance. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyse the survey data collected from the executives of four-and five-star hotels in Mashhad, Iran. Results show that corporate governance positively influences the three dimensions of market orientation, while overall market orientation influences financial and social performance. Specifically, customer orientation and inter-function coordination significantly reinforce such mediation, whereas the influence of competitor orientation is limited to financial performance.
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Purpose-The primary role of auditors is to offer fiduciary services to the society and users of the financial reporting. With this role, users placed their trust and dependent on the ability and judgment made by the auditors during their... more
Purpose-The primary role of auditors is to offer fiduciary services to the society and users of the financial reporting. With this role, users placed their trust and dependent on the ability and judgment made by the auditors during their auditing works. However, recent financial scandals involving high profile companies frustrated the public's expectations, particularly in Malaysia. It is claimed that auditors are not having ethical sensitivity while executing their task in mitigating the fraudulent financial reporting. Therefore, this study aims to examine the influences of ethical orientation, locus of control and firm's ethical culture on the auditors' ethical sensitivity in Malaysia. Methodology/approach-This study collected primary data based on a questionnaire survey among audit firms in Klang Valley area and registered with Malaysian Institutes of Accountants. Findings-The results showed ethical sensitivity has a significant negative relationship with relativism and some cases have a significant positive relationship with idealism. Moreover, it found a significant positive relationship between ethical sensitivity and ethical culture. Originality/value-This paper provides benefit to the audit firms, professional bodies, policy makers, and academia in understanding the factors that might increase the sensitivity of auditors in dealing with ethical issues that could lead to fraudulent financial reporting in the company.
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Objective/Purpose: This study investigates the impact of traditional marketing analytics and big data analytics on the success of a new product. Moreover, it assesses the mediating effects of the quality of big data system.... more
Objective/Purpose: This study investigates the impact of traditional marketing analytics and big data analytics on the success of a new product. Moreover, it assesses the mediating effects of the quality of big data system. Methodology/Design: This study is based on primary data that were collected through an online questionnaire survey from large manufacturing firms operating in UAE. Out of total distributed 421 samples, 327 samples were used for final data analysis. The survey was conducted from March-April 2020 and data analysis was done via Structural Equation Modelling (SEM-PLS). Findings: It emerges that big data analysis (BDA), traditional marketing analysis (TMA) and big data system quality (BDSQ) are significant determinants of new product development (NPD) success. Meanwhile, the BDA and TMA significantly affect the BDSQ. Results of the mediating role of BDSQ in the relationship between the BDA and NPD as well as TMA and NPD are significant. Implications: There are significant policy implications for practitioners and researchers concerning the role of analytics, particularly big data analytics and big data system quality, when attempting to achieve success in developing new products. Originality/Value: This is an original study based on primary data from UAE.
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Purpose-Integrity-related issues are now endemic to public service bureaucracies. It is claimed that corruption in the public sector is very common in various departments/agencies. Lack of integrity will lead to failings in governance and... more
Purpose-Integrity-related issues are now endemic to public service bureaucracies. It is claimed that corruption in the public sector is very common in various departments/agencies. Lack of integrity will lead to failings in governance and proper oversight of procedures, and subsequently poor financial management and incidents of fraud. Based on the Stakeholder Theory Perspective, this study examines the influences of accountability, risk management and managerial commitment on practices of integrity in the Malaysian public sector. Design/methodology/approach-Primary data were collected through both printed and online questionnaires given to 210 department heads operating within selected Malaysian federal ministries. Data were analysed via the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach to examine the research hypotheses. Findings-It is evident that integrity practices in Malaysia's public sector are statistically significantly related to risk management, accountability, and management commitment. Practical/Policy implications-The findings will help the Malaysian federal ministries to take the necessary steps to improve integrity so that dependability and efficiency are the hallmarks of public sector services. Originality/value-To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is one of the first to examine the role of accountability, risk management, and managerial commitment to integrity in the public sector of a developing market economy.
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Purpose: This study aims to explore the challenges and prospects of using e-wallets in Malaysia, and what it means for businesses and customers. Suggested here are strategies to leverage the strengths and opportunities as well as overcome... more
Purpose: This study aims to explore the challenges and prospects of using e-wallets in Malaysia, and what it means for businesses and customers. Suggested here are strategies to leverage the strengths and opportunities as well as overcome the weaknesses and threats. Suggested here are strategies to leverage the strengths and opportunities as well as overcome the weaknesses and threats. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyses the e-wallet phenomenon using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis to assess Malaysian business development. It is supported with findings from the literature and secondary data. The relevant secondary data were collected from Bank Negara Malaysia and the World Bank. Findings: This study shows that e-wallets in Malaysia have still not achieved their purpose but there is huge potential to do so. The SWOT analysis identified several strengths (e.g. financial incorporation, easy to access, protection and safety, simple for other accounts to connect to, product and consumer service management, quick to implement/administer), weaknesses (e.g. lack of infrastructure and the 'tapping' of devices already cornered by the mobile phone market, opportunities (e.g. eliminating fraud, better customer service, promotion/loyalty that can be built into customer experience) and threats (e.g. attacks from viruses, frequent inquiries whether multiple wallets can be used by clients, the concerns of reckless spending behaviour of the E-wallet users). Research implications: This study is crucial for assessing the current situation and the prospects of e-wallets in Malaysia. This study also offers significant insights for policymakers and e-wallet service providers to develop appropriate strategies to enhance e-wallet services in Malaysia. Originality/value: This paper is the first of its kind to integrate a SWOT analysis and the rapid development of the e-wallet market in Malaysia. Hence, the findings could broaden our knowledge on the fintech industry and enable firms to participate in the e-wallet market.
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The carbon footprint of households is a significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 24% of total emissions. As a result, it is critical to quantify a household's carbon footprint in order to reduce it over... more
The carbon footprint of households is a significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 24% of total emissions. As a result, it is critical to quantify a household's carbon footprint in order to reduce it over time. One of the best ways to measure carbon emitted from various sectors of the economy, including household daily activities, is to calculate a country's carbon footprint (CF). This study statistically examined the magnitude of households’ carbon footprints and their relationships with household daily activities and certain socio-economic demographic variables in Malaysia. Results revealed that the average household carbon footprint amounted to 11.76 t-CO2. The average also showed that the primary carbon footprint, 7.02 t-CO2 or 59.69% was higher compared to the secondary carbon footprint which was 4.73 t- CO2 or 40.22% and assessment revealed significant differences among household types.The largest carbon footprint was evident in a medium-high cost urban area, estimated at 20.14 t-CO2, while the carbon footprint found in a rural area was 9.58 t-CO2. In the latter, the primary carbon footprint was almost double the figure of 5.84 t-CO2 (61%) than the secondary carbon footprint of 3.73 t-CO2 (39%). The study reveals a higher carbon footprint in urban areas compared to rural ones depicting the effects of urbanisation and urban sprawl on household lifestyles and carbon footprints. Despite some limitations, the findings of this study will help policymakers design and implement stronger policies that enforce low-carbon activities and energy-saving goods and services in order to reduce urban Malaysia's carbon
footprint dramatically
footprint dramatically
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The objective of this study is to analyse the rationales, challenges and prospects of Dhaka City being split up, for the purposes of creating a sustainable city grounded in relevant theories and widely used and accepted standards. An... more
The objective of this study is to analyse the rationales, challenges and prospects of Dhaka City being split up, for the purposes of creating a sustainable city grounded in relevant theories and widely used and accepted standards. An assessment of Dhaka being divided in accordance with the concept of City Development Strategies reveals considerable deficiencies in most aspects of public goods and services provisions. Whilst splitting Dhaka into separate sections supports the "World City Hypothesis" it is not without criticisms, for instance those raised by urban planners, experts and politicians. The lack of resources and oversight to address those deficiencies and problems and the administrative, allocative, economic and social inefficiencies makes it very difficult for Dhaka's authorities to achieve sustainable urbanisation. Therefore, appropriate strategies must be implemented by government to resolve these problems, inefficiencies and mismanagement in order for the city to be liveable sustainable.
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Predicting the sustainability of a business is crucial to prevent financial losses among shareholders and investors. This study attempts to evaluate the Altman model for predicting corporate failure in distressed and non-distressed... more
Predicting the sustainability of a business is crucial to prevent financial losses among shareholders and investors. This study attempts to evaluate the Altman model for predicting corporate failure in distressed and non-distressed Malaysian companies based on the data of financially troubled companies which are classified as Practice Note 17 (PN17) and matching similar non-PN17 companies during the period 2013 to 2017. This study utilizes panel ordinal and panel random effects regressions. Findings show that the liquidity, profitability, leverage, solvency, and efficiency ratios are negatively significantly associated with corporate failure and bankruptcy. The leverage ratio is determined to be the strongest indicator of bankruptcy, followed by profitability, liquidity, solvency, and efficiency ratios. The findings will help companies' management bodies implement suitable strategies to prevent further financial leakage, thereby ensuring continuous and sustainable return on investment and profits for investors and shareholders.
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Currently, nurses' job performance in Nigeria's public healthcare system has been called into question and is under more pressure due to the current global COVID-19 pandemic. In enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency and promptness of... more
Currently, nurses' job performance in Nigeria's public healthcare system has been called into question and is under more pressure due to the current global COVID-19 pandemic. In enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency and promptness of Nigeria's public healthcare service delivery, this study seeks to explore how work engagement could play a key role in explaining the influence of organisational commitment on nurses' job performance. A survey-based questionnaire, using a simple random technique was employed to collect data from 406 nurses working in public hospitals in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The data were analysed employing the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). Results demonstrate that affective and normative commitment wield positive significant effects on nurses' job performance, while work engagement significantly mediates affective commitment, normative commitment and nurses' job performance relationships. Consequently, this study recommends that the management of Nigeria's public healthcare system and its policymakers should improve the commitment level of nurses through work engagement with a view to enhancing how well they do their job. This study benefits all the relevant stakeholders of Nigeria's public healthcare system.
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Highlights 1. COVID-19 pandemic causes massive damage to global economic growth but improve climate condition 2. When the lockdowns will be lifted the global economic climate is expected to bounce back 3. Implementing green economic... more
Highlights 1. COVID-19 pandemic causes massive damage to global economic growth but improve climate condition 2. When the lockdowns will be lifted the global economic climate is expected to bounce back 3. Implementing green economic stimulus packages related to COVID-19 will create a systematic transition to a low carbon economy and society 4. Policy makers need to consider the triple crisis of economic, climate change and COVID-19 pandemic at the same time
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The increasing level of greenhouse gas carbon emission currently exacerbates the devastating effect of global warming on the Earth's ecosystem. Energy usage is one of the most important determinants that is increasing the amount of carbon... more
The increasing level of greenhouse gas carbon emission currently exacerbates the devastating effect of global warming on the Earth's ecosystem. Energy usage is one of the most important determinants that is increasing the amount of carbon gases being released. Simultaneously, the level of energy usage is derived by the price and therefore, this study examines the contribution of energy price to carbon gas emissions in thirteen African nations for the period spanning 1990 to 2017. It does this by utilizing the Cross-sectional Dependence (CD), Augmented Mean Group (AMG) and Pooled Mean Group (PMG) panel modelling methods. The findings of the AMG model suggest that a 1% increase in energy price leads to a 0.02% decerease in carbon emission. The results further reveal that a 1% increase in energy intensity and technological innovation lead to 0.04% and 3.65% increase in carbon emission, respectively, in the selected African countries. Findings will help policymakers to implement effective energy price policies to reduce carbon emissions and achieve sustainable development goals especially in the emerging economies of Africa.
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Landslides represent one of the world’s most dangerous and widespread risks, annually causing thousands of deaths and billions of dollars worth of damage. Building on and around hilly areas in many regions has increased, and it poses a... more
Landslides represent one of the world’s most dangerous and widespread risks, annually causing thousands of deaths and billions of dollars worth of damage. Building on and around hilly areas in many regions has increased, and it poses a severe threat to the physical infrastructure and
people living within such zones. Quantitative assessment of social vulnerability in Malaysia is worrying because it has been given less attention than hazard-related studies. Therefore, this study’s objective is to find out the indicators used for social vulnerability assessment in the context of a landslide in Malaysia. The analysis is critical for understanding the measures of social vulnerability, given that the incorporation of climate change and disaster risk mitigation issues in urban planning and management are considered priorities in ensuring a stable population growth and avoiding economic disruption. A systematic study on the Scopus and Web of Science repositories was conducted based on the PRISMA Report analysis method. This article concluded that there are six important indicators of social vulnerability in the context of landslide in Malaysia
people living within such zones. Quantitative assessment of social vulnerability in Malaysia is worrying because it has been given less attention than hazard-related studies. Therefore, this study’s objective is to find out the indicators used for social vulnerability assessment in the context of a landslide in Malaysia. The analysis is critical for understanding the measures of social vulnerability, given that the incorporation of climate change and disaster risk mitigation issues in urban planning and management are considered priorities in ensuring a stable population growth and avoiding economic disruption. A systematic study on the Scopus and Web of Science repositories was conducted based on the PRISMA Report analysis method. This article concluded that there are six important indicators of social vulnerability in the context of landslide in Malaysia
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The east coast of Malaysia is frequently hit by monsoon floods every year that severely impact people, particularly those living close to the river bank, which is considered to be the most vulnerable and high-risk areas. We aim to... more
The east coast of Malaysia is frequently hit by monsoon floods every year that severely impact people, particularly those living close to the river bank, which is considered to be the most vulnerable and high-risk areas. We aim to determine the most vulnerable area and understand affected residents of this community who are living in the most sensitive areas caused by flooding events in districts of Temerloh, Pekan, and Kuantan, Pahang. This study involved collecting data for vulnerability index components. A field survey and face-to-face interviews with 602 respondents were conducted 6 months after the floods by using a questionnaire evaluation based on the livelihood vulnerability index (LVI). The findings show that residents in the Temerloh district are at higher risk of flooding damage compared to those living in Pekan and Kuantan. Meanwhile, the contribution factor of LVI-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) showed that Kuantan is more exposed to the impact of climate change, followed by Temerloh and Pekan. Among all the principal components shown, food components were considered to be the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, water components were categorised as the most invulnerable. Preventive planning involves preserving human life, minimising damage to household products, preserving crops and animals, adequate supply of clean water and food, good health and ensuring financial sustainability as an indication of changing livelihoods, sustainable food-storing systems, and other protective steps to curb damage and injury caused by annual flood strikes. Information generated on LVI assessment and adaptation procedures will help policymakers reduce people's vulnerability in the face of floods and ensure proper plans are put in place in all relevant areas.
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Flash flood is the most devastating natural disaster experienced in Malaysia. It can be defined as any high water flow caused by various factors such as rainstorms, slow water runoff , and broken dams. In Malaysia, the most typical and... more
Flash flood is the most devastating natural disaster experienced in Malaysia. It can be defined as any high water flow caused by various factors such as rainstorms, slow water runoff , and broken dams. In Malaysia, the most typical and disruptive hydro-meteorological occurrences are flash floods, which are mostly faced by Malaysian cities including Kuala Lumpur and Kajang. However, flash floods may occur at any time of the year rather than during monsoon and can result in devastating losses and damages. Thus, several mitigation steps and estimations are warranted to handle flash floods, especially at the city level. Hence, this paper estimated the amount of direct loss and damage due to flash floods on the basis of the commercial area of Kajang City. This empirical study used primary data collected through direct face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 41 businessmen in the study area. The average estimated overall losses and damages per shop was RM4,510.07 due to flash floods at Kajang City in 2014, wherein the significant contribution comes from the economic side. This study's findings can serve as the baseline information for future studies on flash flood losses and damages. Furthermore, the present study suggests extensive institutional research for estimating losses and damages due to flash floods at the country level as an adaptation strategy.
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This research investigates the health impacts and access to health services by children who are engaged in waste collection in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The relevant qualitative data were collected through expert interviews... more
This research investigates the health impacts and access to health services by children who are engaged in waste collection in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The relevant qualitative data were collected through expert interviews and personal observations, while quantitative data were gathered through a face-to-face questionnaire survey given to 50 street children who collected waste at the landfill site located in Dhaka city's Matuail area. The results indicate that 94% of these children have suffered from many health problems, such as fever and fatigue due to tiredness, dizziness, and vomiting. Consequently, a significant portion of their daily income is spent on medical treatment. This study suggests that the waste collection system must integrate modern technological, health and environmental resources so that: firstly, they do not harm waste collectors; and secondly, rehabilitate the street children and give them better access to acceptable basic amenities. This is a priority the city authorities.
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Public sectors around the world, especially in the developing counties, are not functioning well due to widespread fraud, governance, corruption, and inefficacy. For this reason, the world's public sectors need to improve their efficacy... more
Public sectors around the world, especially in the developing counties, are not functioning well due to widespread fraud, governance, corruption, and inefficacy. For this reason, the world's public sectors need to improve their efficacy by using a sound risk management system. This study attempts to comprehend the phenomenon of current risk management practices among the public sector employees in different service schemes in Malaysia. A questionnaire survey was utilized to collect primary data from 194 department heads in Malaysia's federal ministries. The collected data was analysed using descriptive statistics and factor analysis. Findings revealed that 94.7% of respondents agreed to implementing risk management in their respective departments, but the level of priority for these risk management factors differs based on the service schemes. This study will assist policymakers to identify what is needed to enhance risk management practices in the public sector.
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Agriculture is considered to be a vital aspect of Algeria's national economy and rural development. Achieving sustainable agricultural production, generating employment, reducing imports and minimising post-harvest crops losses are the... more
Agriculture is considered to be a vital aspect of Algeria's national economy and rural development. Achieving sustainable agricultural production, generating employment, reducing imports and minimising post-harvest crops losses are the major objectives of the Algerian government. However, based on the evaluation of existing policies, this study found that poor governance is hampering the agriculture sector, particularly in terms of management of financial resources, where most financial investments are made only for short-term gains. The lack of awareness about the importance of post-harvest practices and lack of using modern technology threaten the growth of this sector. Adopting sound post-harvest methods can reduce food losses and wastage in every stage of the food supply chain, and integration of modern techniques, skilled labour, and education training systems are very important if agriculture in Algeria is to progress.
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Credible and well-functioning governance is crucial for the value creation of firms. Recently, private sectors have undergone substantial changes by focusing on good governance as a tool to enhance value, reputation, and image. The... more
Credible and well-functioning governance is crucial for the value creation of firms. Recently, private sectors have undergone substantial changes by focusing on good governance as a tool to enhance value, reputation, and image. The primary features of firms with good governance include greater emphasis on accountability practices, proper implementation of a corporate integrity system, and sound internal controls in place to avoid risk and to ensure policy and procedures that are complied. Government Linked Companies (GLCs) as the backbone of the Malaysian government have been harshly criticised for not being able to create value(s) despite receiving high priority in the process of getting government projects. Therefore, this study aims to examine the role of good governance systems, which are reflected through accountability systems, corporate integrity systems, and internal control systems towards value creation of Malaysian GLCs. This study collected primary data based on a set of questionnaire survey among 100 GLCs in Malaysia. Based on the regression analysis, this study found that corporate integrity systems and internal control systems were vital elements in ensuring value creation in GLCs.
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This study investigates the short-term and long-term impacts of economic growth, trade openness and technological progress on renewable energy use in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Based on a... more
This study investigates the short-term and long-term impacts of economic growth, trade openness and technological progress on renewable energy use in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Based on a panel data set of 25 OECD countries for 43 years, we used the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach and the related intermediate estimators, including pooled mean group (PMG), mean group (MG) and dynamic fixed effect (DFE) to achieve the objective. The estimated ARDL model has also been checked for robustness using the two substitute single equation estimators, these being the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS). Empirical results reveal that economic growth, trade openness and technological progress significantly influence renewable energy use over the long-term in OECD countries. While the long-term nature of dynamics of the variables is found to be similar across 25
OECD countries, their short-term dynamics are found to be mixed in nature. This is attributed to varying levels of trade openness and technological progress in OECD countries. Since this is a pioneer study that investigates the issue, the findings are completely new and they make a significant contribution to renewable energy literature as well as relevant policy development
OECD countries, their short-term dynamics are found to be mixed in nature. This is attributed to varying levels of trade openness and technological progress in OECD countries. Since this is a pioneer study that investigates the issue, the findings are completely new and they make a significant contribution to renewable energy literature as well as relevant policy development
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In Malaysia, there is a declining trend in agricultural productivity and crop yields due to various climate events in the recent years. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impacts of climate change, especially El Nino and flood, on... more
In Malaysia, there is a declining trend in agricultural productivity and crop yields due to various climate events in the recent years. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impacts of climate change, especially El Nino and flood, on the financial performance of Malaysian agro and plantation firms. The study used a panel data set on 33 Malaysian agro and plantation firms listed in Bursa Malaysia for the period of 2003 to 2016. A panel of regression models including GMM, Pooled OLS, Random Effect and Fixed Effect were used to analyze the data. The results show that both the El Nino and flood have significant negative impact on the firms' financial performance as measured by ROA and ROE. The findings indicate that climate change results in reduction of agricultural production which reduces revenue and consequently the profit of the agro and plantation firms. The study findings might help the firm managers as well as policy makers to take into consideration the environmental factors that affect the overall financial health of the firms and take appropriate adaptation and mitigation policies to climate change at firm level and macro level in the country.
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This paper studies the relationship between social capital on the green growth in Malaysia, with the aim of ascertaining whether faith based social capital has a role in sustaining economic growth. The study utilizes the annual data over... more
This paper studies the relationship between social capital on the green growth in Malaysia, with the aim of ascertaining whether faith based social capital has a role in sustaining economic growth. The study utilizes the annual data over the period of 1970-2015. This study employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and causality using the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The findings demonstrate the long and short-run associations between social capital and green growth in Malaysia. The causality only runs in a unidirection from social capital to the green economic growth. The findings have important policy implications for green economic growth measurement to account for social well-being and to fulfil the objectives of Islamic Sharia.
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Islamic foreign exchange forward plays a significant role to mitigate various foreign currency exchange risks. The main challenge that impedes the development and operation of the Islamic foreign exchange forward as a hedging instrument... more
Islamic foreign exchange forward plays a significant role to mitigate various foreign currency exchange risks. The main challenge that impedes the development and operation of the Islamic foreign exchange forward as a hedging instrument is the behaviour of relying on existing conventional framework with core conception of relying on interest rate and excessive risk taking. This study utilized monthly data from April 2004 to October 2017 of the Malaysian derivatives market. This study found that in the absence of an alternative profit-rate related benchmark and cross border activities, Islamic banks are constrained to use the interest rate benchmark. In the short run, both medium term (6-months) and longer term (12-months) tenures indicate faster speed of adjustment possibility due to higher trading volume and less demand for the medium term for the Islamic foreign exchange forward contract. It implies a need of the Islamic foreign exchange forward as a longer-term hedging instrument and not for a short term speculation and risk-taking purposes, as prohibited by shariah.
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Faced with an exponentially growing world population, what is required is a population stabilization policy to control the global fertility rates. This has implications for the working-age population in the future, and lead to a serious... more
Faced with an exponentially growing world population, what is required is a population stabilization policy to control the global fertility rates. This has implications for the working-age population in the future, and lead to a serious economic crisis. It is envisaged that by the year 2050 the work-age population will have seriously declined but is still expected to look after an increasing dependent population. This paper argues that to maintain sustainable economic growth, and to support the associated technological advances in the future there will be demand for a larger labor force. It notes that the industrialized countries are now managing with migrant populations drawn mostly from high fertility but low-income countries. In the global context this is only a zero-sum game without increasing the stock of the world’s actual total labor force. Therefore, the world population needs to increase to meet the growing demand for a larger labor force in order to achieve economic sustainability. Since the earth’s population carrying capacity largely depends on advanced technology functioning well, to support society’s lifestyle expectations, the world should not defer planned population growth.
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The extent and scope of understanding the nexus between poverty and environment are so extensive as well as complex that existing studies do not provide a concrete answer to the paradox. In the same vein, this study aims to contribute... more
The extent and scope of understanding the nexus between poverty and environment are so extensive as well as complex that existing studies do not provide a concrete answer to the paradox. In the same vein, this study aims to contribute further to extent literature by assessing the attitude and behavior of the urban impoverished population concerning their management of solid wastes at household level. It also determines the factors that could potentially affect their willingness to pay for an improved access to solid waste collection and disposal services in their residential areas. The empirical findings obtained through some statistical and econometric analyses do not actually support the widely voiced assertion that the poor populations degrade the environment. But the findings strongly support the fact that urban impoverished populations do not actually degrade but they protect the environment by undertaking some environment-friendly waste management practices and contributing monetarily for an improvement in the environmental quality.
Research Interests:
Purpose: In the current information age, when the attention spans of most people have become very short, marketers are facings serious challenges to grab the attention of their target audience effectively and fruitfully. From street... more
Purpose: In the current information age, when the attention spans of most people have become very short, marketers are facings serious challenges to grab the attention of their target audience effectively and fruitfully. From street corner to bedroom, virtually every perceivable location of human traces are littered with activity of marketers, whether they are small or large in scale, or the recipients of their information understand the message properly or not. Studying consumers’ acceptance of the main ethical issues in communication, mainly in advertising has recently been receiving much attention from scholars. Therefore, in order to grab the attention of people in the increasing competitive environment, advertisers have resorted to using what they feel can quickly attract the audience. For example, the attachment of attractive women with their physical natural endowments presented in explicit sexually appealing postures to products/services that have no linkage with women. These practices have raised some moral and ethical questions within the society. Therefore, the scope of this study focuses on discussing marketing communication through presenting women as a sexual object from the morality, ethics, and religious perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach: This is a descriptive study based on the systematic literature review. Initially, this paper discusses the ethical issues of using women and sexual appeals in the process of marketing communication as well as the current level of practices in the industry. Then, it discusses the consequences and dimensions of the issues from different types of ethical grounds. Finally, it provides recommendations with the objective of finding a common ground from business and social perspectives. It also mentions the scopes of further research, which could lead the secular world to modify their moral values and come closer to the norms of other civilized societies.
Findings: The position of the paper takes is that considering the negative effects of the prevalent advertising in society, the practice falls short of human moral values; as a result, it is considered unethical.
Originality/value: This review paper examines the ethical implication of using women as marketing tools from the perspectives of morality, business, and Islamic principles that will help business groups as well as the whole religious community, especially Muslims.
Design/methodology/approach: This is a descriptive study based on the systematic literature review. Initially, this paper discusses the ethical issues of using women and sexual appeals in the process of marketing communication as well as the current level of practices in the industry. Then, it discusses the consequences and dimensions of the issues from different types of ethical grounds. Finally, it provides recommendations with the objective of finding a common ground from business and social perspectives. It also mentions the scopes of further research, which could lead the secular world to modify their moral values and come closer to the norms of other civilized societies.
Findings: The position of the paper takes is that considering the negative effects of the prevalent advertising in society, the practice falls short of human moral values; as a result, it is considered unethical.
Originality/value: This review paper examines the ethical implication of using women as marketing tools from the perspectives of morality, business, and Islamic principles that will help business groups as well as the whole religious community, especially Muslims.
Research Interests:
The potential costs of road traffic accidents (RTAs) to society are immense. Yet, no study has attempted to examine the impact of climate change on RTAs in Saudi Arabia, though RTA-leading deaths are very high, and the occurrence of... more
The potential costs of road traffic accidents (RTAs) to society are immense. Yet, no study has attempted to examine the impact of climate change on RTAs in Saudi Arabia, though RTA-leading deaths are very high, and the occurrence of climatic events is very frequent. Therefore, this study aims to assess the impact of climate change on RTAs in Saudi Arabia and to recommend some climate change mitigation and adaptation policies to make roads safe for all. This study employed annual data from 13 regions of Saudi Arabia, from 2003 to 2013. The data were analyzed on the basis of panel regression models—fixed effect, random effect, and the pooled ordinary least square. The findings show that temperature, rainfall, sandstorms, and number of vehicles were statistically and significantly responsible for RTAs in Saudi Arabia in the study period. This study also found that RTAs both inside and outside cities significantly caused injuries, but only RTAs inside cities significantly caused death. Furthermore, the death from RTAs injuries was found to be statistically significant only for motor vehicle accidents. The findings will assist policymakers in taking the right courses of action to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change through understanding climate influence on RTAs.
Research Interests:
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyze the profitability performance of Islamic banks of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region during 2008 global financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach – Bank specific data are taken... more
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyze the profitability performance of Islamic banks of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region during 2008 global financial crisis.
Design/methodology/approach – Bank specific data are taken from the Bank Scope database and macroeconomic data are collected from International Financial Statistics. Using a panel data series of 30 banks for the period of 2005 to 2011, the study shows the evidence of structural break for the crisis year as well as the factors that impact the profitability of Islamic banks.
Findings – The performance of GCC Islamic banks was significantly influenced during the crisis period by capital adequacy, credit risk, financial risk, operational efficiency, liquidity, bank size, gross domestic product, growth rate of money supply, bank sector development and inflation rate. The study also finds that there is a structural change before and after the global financial crisis.
Originality/value – This is an original study that shows that the shariah compliant banks have performed better during the crisis and are not affected based on their internal performance records; rather, they have been affected indirectly from the macro shock due to the overall economic crisis.
Design/methodology/approach – Bank specific data are taken from the Bank Scope database and macroeconomic data are collected from International Financial Statistics. Using a panel data series of 30 banks for the period of 2005 to 2011, the study shows the evidence of structural break for the crisis year as well as the factors that impact the profitability of Islamic banks.
Findings – The performance of GCC Islamic banks was significantly influenced during the crisis period by capital adequacy, credit risk, financial risk, operational efficiency, liquidity, bank size, gross domestic product, growth rate of money supply, bank sector development and inflation rate. The study also finds that there is a structural change before and after the global financial crisis.
Originality/value – This is an original study that shows that the shariah compliant banks have performed better during the crisis and are not affected based on their internal performance records; rather, they have been affected indirectly from the macro shock due to the overall economic crisis.
Research Interests:
The number of Muslim tourists has surged in recent years due to increased number of Muslim population with higher segment of better educated and more prosperous Muslim community. Although this is undoubtedly an opportunity for the hotel... more
The number of Muslim tourists has surged in recent years due to increased number of Muslim population with higher segment of better educated and more prosperous Muslim community. Although this is undoubtedly an opportunity for the hotel industry, the unique religious and cultural needs of Muslims pose some challenges for hoteliers. A response to this has been the development of halal hotels which offer food, accommodation and entertainment that is halal. While establishing halal hotels in Muslim-majority countries like Malaysia seems to be easier with the inherent good understanding of Islamic practices as well as support from the government, halal hotel industry could also give competitive advantage to Muslim-minority industry such as Thailand. It is therefore pertinent and timely to look into the challenges and prospects of halal hotel industry in Malaysia and Thailand. The comparative research framework must include a considerable number of hotels encompassing a variety of scales of operation from both countries to obtain reliable qualitative data. The findings could assist policymakers and relevant authorities in setting the way forward for the industry particularly by establishing relevant regulation and economic environment that support the industry.
Research Interests:
Glass ceiling is an important issue in the developed world, but there are few studies on the developing world, especially on the private sector of Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aims to determine the influences of the factors of glass... more
Glass ceiling is an important issue in the developed world, but there are few studies on the developing world, especially on the private sector of Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aims to determine the influences of the factors of glass ceiling on the job satisfaction and job switching decisions among the female employees in the private sector of Bangladesh. This study conducted structured questionnaire surveys on 192 female employees from two private sector industries – banking and telecommunication in Bangladesh. The data were collected in December 2013 by using random sampling technique. The study used Ordered Logit and Binary Logit regressions. The study found that women employees working in banking sector hold more job satisfaction than those of telecommunication sector. Further, the study found that glass ceiling related variables has no significant relationship with the job satisfaction of women employees but there are several glass ceiling factors that statistically significantly influence on the decisions of changing or switching the existing jobs of women employees. Those who feel they are discriminated by any male colleague or being discriminated to move to higher level management positions or discriminated for promotions or holding less job security are likely to change their existing jobs. To improve the situation, several initiatives need to be taken in the organization like awareness building, standard and ethical human resource practices, strict policies for discriminatory attitudes and behavior etc.
Research Interests:
Ensuring accountability in the public sector is a very crucial issue as it could lead to failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy, corruption as well as weak financial management. This study evaluated the state of present accountability... more
Ensuring accountability in the public sector is a very crucial issue as it could lead to failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy, corruption as well as weak financial management. This study evaluated the state of present accountability practices among public sector employees from various Malaysian service schemes. Primary data were collected, using a questionnaire survey approach with 194 heads of departments in the Malaysian federal ministries. Data was collected in accordance with the perspective of 12 factors in accountability practices, using a five-point Likert scale. Factor analysis and descriptive statistics were utilized for data analysis. In addition, data reliability was checked by Cronbach’s alpha test; data normality was examined by Skewness and Kurtosis tests, and data validity was tested by using Kaiser-Meyer Olkin test and Barlett’s test. The findings show that 94.9% of the participants reported that they practised accountability within their departments. Nevertheless, the priority for these accountability factors varied according to the service schemes. In general, the perceived accountability practice was the highest within the group of the administrative scheme and the lowest among the employees under the accounting scheme. Moreover, the perceived accountability practice of the audit scheme was below the general average level. This findings of the study would help policy makers to take necessary steps to improve the practices of accountability in the public sector for creating a more dependable and efficient public sector in Malaysia.
Research Interests:
This study investigates the dynamic relationships between technological innovation, consumption of energy, energy price and economic growth in Denmark during the period from 1970 until 2012, using multivariate setting to examine... more
This study investigates the dynamic relationships between technological innovation, consumption of energy, energy price and economic growth in Denmark during the period from 1970 until 2012, using multivariate setting to examine time-series data. The analysis employs the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to co-integration in order to examine both the short and long run dynamics among the variables. Furthermore, the study uses the Granger procedure within the VAR framework to identify causality among the variables. The model used in this study is found to be sound, a diagnosis of the reliability of the model reached by testing normality, functional form, serial correlation, and heteroscedasticity, with stability of the model tested using a cumulative sum and cumulative sum square test, based on recursive regression residuals. The ARDL approach to co-integration reveals that real GDP growth positively influences energy consumption as well as significantly in both the short run and long run, while energy prices and technological innovation influence energy consumption negatively and significantly. The results ascertain that energy consumption and economic growth are independent of each other, and thus they support a neutral hypothesis for Denmark. Besides, both the technological innovation and energy prices are found to be Granger cause energy consumption. Therefore, the study suggests that Denmark should adopt conservative energy policy using technological innovation and energy prices as instruments to achieve energy security and protect the environment from pollution.
Research Interests:
Glass ceiling is an important issue in the developed world, but there are few studies on the developing world, especially on the private sector of Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aims to determine the influences of the factors of glass... more
Glass ceiling is an important issue in the developed world, but there are few studies on the developing world, especially on the private sector of Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aims to determine the influences of the factors of glass ceiling on the job satisfaction and job switching decisions among the female employees in the private sector of Bangladesh. This study conducted structured questionnaire surveys on 192 female employees from two private sector industries – banking and telecommunication in Bangladesh. The data were collected in December 2013 by using random sampling technique. The study used Ordered Logit and Binary Logit regressions. The study found that women employees working in banking sector hold more job satisfaction than those of telecommunication sector. Further, the study found that glass ceiling related variables have no significant relationship with the job satisfaction of women employees but there are several glass ceiling factors that statistically significantly influence on the decisions of changing or switching the existing jobs of women employees. These glass ceiling factors are: those female employees who feel are discriminated by any male colleague, discriminated to move to higher management positions, discriminated for promotions, and holding less job security would like to shift in better job. Some other glass ceiling factors also show statistically significant relationship with not willing to change job. These are: the married women or the women who like to be isolated in the workplace, or those who have good network and understanding within the organization. In order to improve the situation, several initiatives need to be taken in the organization like awareness building, standard and ethical human resource practices, strict policies for discriminatory attitudes and behavior etc.
Keywords: Job satisfaction; glass ceiling; gender discrimination; Bangladesh
Reference: Nazmul, A.K., and Alam, M.M. 2016. Empirical Evidences of Women Employees Job Satisfaction and Glass Ceiling: A study on the Private Sector of Bangladesh. Proceedings of the International Conference on “Business Management, Economics and Social Science (ICBMESS 2016), Uttara University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec 21-23.
Keywords: Job satisfaction; glass ceiling; gender discrimination; Bangladesh
Reference: Nazmul, A.K., and Alam, M.M. 2016. Empirical Evidences of Women Employees Job Satisfaction and Glass Ceiling: A study on the Private Sector of Bangladesh. Proceedings of the International Conference on “Business Management, Economics and Social Science (ICBMESS 2016), Uttara University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec 21-23.
Research Interests:
Most jurisdictions around the world have no sufficiently effective oversight of their Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) which lead to a loophole for fraud. Generally, NPOs’ funds are obtained from public donations and they also enjoy... more
Most jurisdictions around the world have no sufficiently effective oversight of their Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) which lead to a loophole for fraud. Generally, NPOs’ funds are obtained from public donations and they also enjoy tax-exempt status. As such, it is crucial for managers of NPOs, to initiate measures to mitigate fraud and mismanagement in their organization. Corporate integrity systems were introduced by Malaysian government that aim to mitigate fraud at organizational level in the long run. This paper aims to examine five dimensions of Corporate Integrity Systems and their effects on accountability outcomes of NPOs. Based on data collected from 111 NPOs, the findings revealed that all five dimensions of corporate integrity systems – compliance, policies and rules, organization culture, leadership, ethics training and education, and whistle blowing – significantly contribute to positive accountability outcomes of NPOs. This indicates that for NPOs to deliver greater accountability outcomes to it stakeholders, serious emphasis on corporate integrity systems is vital.
Reference: Said, J., Alam, M.M., Atan, R., and Omar, N. 2016. Corporate Integrity System and Accountability Outcomes of Non-Profit Organizations: Empirical Findings from Malaysia. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference On Governance And Accountability Towards Sustainable And Accountable Landscape, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Melaka, Malaysia, Sep 25-28.
Reference: Said, J., Alam, M.M., Atan, R., and Omar, N. 2016. Corporate Integrity System and Accountability Outcomes of Non-Profit Organizations: Empirical Findings from Malaysia. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference On Governance And Accountability Towards Sustainable And Accountable Landscape, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Melaka, Malaysia, Sep 25-28.
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This study investigates the causality and long-run trend between Japan’s industrial production and CO2 emissions and proposes some corporate environmental strategies using the econometric techniques of Vector Error Correction (VEC) and... more
This study investigates the causality and long-run trend between Japan’s industrial production and CO2 emissions and proposes some corporate environmental strategies using the econometric techniques of Vector Error Correction (VEC) and Granger causality. It found that there exists no Granger causality between Japan’s industrial production and CO2 emissions in any direction. But the VEC estimation reveals that an increase in Japan’s industrial production by 1% is associated with a 0.08% increase in the country’s CO2 emissions. It also reveals that any disequilibrium between Japan’s industrial production and CO2 emissions could take about 0.7 quarters for half of the error to be corrected for. The adjustment rate for Japan’s industrial production is found to be positive but quite slow at the rate of 0.08% per year. Since Japan’s CO2 emissions vis-à-vis its industrial production is found to have reached above the long-run equilibrium level, its industrial sector is expected to encounter with stricter government regulations requiring reduction of CO2 emissions to the targeted/equilibrium level in the future.
Keywords: CO2 emissions; industrial production; causality; long-run trend; corporate carbon strategy; corporate environmental strategy; Japan
Reference: Murad. M.W., Janek, R., Alam, M.M. 2016. Japan’s Industrial Production And CO2 Emissions: Determining The Causality, Long-Run Trend And Corporate Environmental Strategies, Proceedings of the 3rd International Scientific Conference: Information Society and Sustainable Development, Polovragi, Gorj, Romania, Apr 14-15.
Keywords: CO2 emissions; industrial production; causality; long-run trend; corporate carbon strategy; corporate environmental strategy; Japan
Reference: Murad. M.W., Janek, R., Alam, M.M. 2016. Japan’s Industrial Production And CO2 Emissions: Determining The Causality, Long-Run Trend And Corporate Environmental Strategies, Proceedings of the 3rd International Scientific Conference: Information Society and Sustainable Development, Polovragi, Gorj, Romania, Apr 14-15.
Research Interests: Japan and CO2 emissions
Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. There are several factors such as social, economic, political, demographic, natural, and livelihood strategies that causes to the vulnerability of... more
Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. There are several factors such as social, economic, political, demographic, natural, and livelihood strategies that causes to the vulnerability of the status of household food security. Therefore examining the vulnerability of these factors is essential to identify the reason and recognize the most vulnerable communities. This study is an attempt to study on the vulnerability of the factors of household food availability and its linkage with climatic changes in Malaysia. The study is based on primary data collected in the months of July – October, 2012 through a questionnaire survey on 460 low income households from East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Malaysia. The samples were selected from E-Kasih poor household database, based on cluster random sampling technique. The study found that the vulnerability of the factors of household food availability has decreased statistically significantly over the last five years period in Malaysia, except the vulnerability of the factor of household food shortages due to unavailability of food in market. This study suggests that the food security programs need to be integrated with climatic change adaptation programs to ensure more effective and sustainable household food security in future, especially among the poor and low income group.
Key words: Climatic Changes, Household Food Security, Food Availability; Vulnerability; Poverty
Reference: Alam, M.M., Siwar, C., Jaafar, A.H., and Talib, B. 2015. Climatic Changes and Vulnerability of Household Food Availability in Malaysian East Coast Economic Region. Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Conference on Business and Social Sciences, pp. 775-784, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia, Nov. 23-24.
Key words: Climatic Changes, Household Food Security, Food Availability; Vulnerability; Poverty
Reference: Alam, M.M., Siwar, C., Jaafar, A.H., and Talib, B. 2015. Climatic Changes and Vulnerability of Household Food Availability in Malaysian East Coast Economic Region. Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Conference on Business and Social Sciences, pp. 775-784, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia, Nov. 23-24.
Research Interests:
Reference: Nabi, M.G., Alam, M.M., Manik, M.M.R., and Islam, M.S. 2015. Green Banking in Bangladesh: Present Status, Opportunities and Challenges. Proceedings of the Kuala Lumpur International Business and Social Science Research... more
Reference: Nabi, M.G., Alam, M.M., Manik, M.M.R., and Islam, M.S. 2015. Green Banking in Bangladesh: Present Status, Opportunities and Challenges. Proceedings of the Kuala Lumpur International Business and Social Science Research Conference 2015, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Aug 7-8.
Research Interests:
Generally in the city areas of developing countries, children from the poor and low income families are involved in a range of risky, unhealthy, and environmentally hazardous economic activities and trades. One of these common activities... more
Generally in the city areas of developing countries, children from the poor and low income families are involved in a range of risky, unhealthy, and environmentally hazardous economic activities and trades. One of these common activities concerns collecting recyclable waste form the street or landfill areas. To understand the socioeconomic characteristics of these waste collector children, this study collected data from fifty children who engaged in waste collection in the landfill of Matuail in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. The data were collected by questionnaire guide, and the samples were selected based on convenient random sampling. This study analyses the socioeconomic conditions of these waste collector children by focussing on such characteristics as their demographic profile, economic affiliation, and nature of the waste collection task. This empirical study may inform and illuminate the relevant policy makers and field activists in widening their understanding of the life and living of this vulnerable group.
Key Words: Waste; Landfill; Street Children; Poverty; Bangladesh
Reference: Hossain, M.S., Alam, M.M., and Khan, N.A. 2014. Socioeconomic Characteristics of Waste Collector Children in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference of International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC), Chittagong, Bangladesh, Dec 19-20.
Key Words: Waste; Landfill; Street Children; Poverty; Bangladesh
Reference: Hossain, M.S., Alam, M.M., and Khan, N.A. 2014. Socioeconomic Characteristics of Waste Collector Children in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference of International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC), Chittagong, Bangladesh, Dec 19-20.
Research Interests:
This study is an attempt to assess the status of current practices of accountability in public sector and its relationship with the practices of integrity system, internal control system, and leadership qualities in the public sector of... more
This study is an attempt to assess the status of current practices of accountability in public sector and its relationship with the practices of integrity system, internal control system, and leadership qualities in the public sector of Malaysia. This study collected primary data based on a set of questionnaire survey among the head of department of 109 departments and agencies under 24 federal ministries including the Prime Minister Department in Malaysia. The data were analysed under descriptive statistics, ordinal regression and path modelling. Several diagnostic tests were conducted to check the validity and reliability of data and models such as Cronbach alpha test, Kaiser-Meyer Olkin test, Shapiro Wilk test, Internal Consistency Reliability, Indicator Reliability, Convergent Validity, and Discriminant Validity, etc. The study found that 87.3% of the respondents practice overall accountability in their department. The accountability practices of the administrative & diplomatic, education, and medical & health is lower than the overall average accountability score, where the engineering group is the highest and medical & health scheme group is the lowest. The accountability in the financial and information system schemes is also not strong enough. The regression and path modelling results show that the practices of integrity system and leadership quality have statistically significantly positive relationship with the practices of accountability in the public sector of Malaysia. The practice of internal control system shows mixed relationship with the practices of accountability. Therefore, to ensure better accountability in the public sector, practices of the internal control system should be linked with the practices of the accountability in Malaysia. The findings of the study will help the policy makers to ensure better accountability in the public sector in Malaysia and other countries.
Key Words: Public Sector; Accountability; Integrity; Control System; Leadership; Path Modelling; Ordinal Regression; Factor Analysis; Malaysia
Reference: Said, J., Alam, M.M., and Aziz, M.A. 2014. Public Accountability System: Empirical Assessment of Public Sector of Malaysia. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Islamic Behavioural Finance, Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Nov 18-19.
Key Words: Public Sector; Accountability; Integrity; Control System; Leadership; Path Modelling; Ordinal Regression; Factor Analysis; Malaysia
Reference: Said, J., Alam, M.M., and Aziz, M.A. 2014. Public Accountability System: Empirical Assessment of Public Sector of Malaysia. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Islamic Behavioural Finance, Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Nov 18-19.
Research Interests:
Due to the chronic financial crisis and failure to protect investors’ rights, the world is looking for an alternative form of share market for future world guidance. At the same time, the current form of share market restricts the Muslim... more
Due to the chronic financial crisis and failure to protect investors’ rights, the world is looking for an alternative form of share market for future world guidance. At the same time, the current form of share market restricts the Muslim to seek economic bounties from it due to unsatisfying several provisions from the Islamic law or Shariah. This study provides the criteria under which condition Islamic shariah permits the share market. It will help the regulatory authorities, investors and researchers to establish Islamic share market and do halal business.
Key Words: Shariah, Share market, Stock, Islamic share market, Islamic banking, Zakaah on share
Reference: Alam, M.M., Akbar, C.S., and Elahi, M.M. 2014. Islamic Principles for Investment in Stock Market, Accepted for the 5th International Conference on Islamic Jurisprudence in the 21st Century 2014, Department of Fiqh & Usul al-Fiqh, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia, Sep 23-25.
Key Words: Shariah, Share market, Stock, Islamic share market, Islamic banking, Zakaah on share
Reference: Alam, M.M., Akbar, C.S., and Elahi, M.M. 2014. Islamic Principles for Investment in Stock Market, Accepted for the 5th International Conference on Islamic Jurisprudence in the 21st Century 2014, Department of Fiqh & Usul al-Fiqh, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia, Sep 23-25.
Research Interests:
Shariah or Islamic Law is a comprehensive set of laws that includes principles and guidelines for every component of human living. The main objectives of Shariah are known as Maqasid al-shariah, which are meant for humans to live a... more
Shariah or Islamic Law is a comprehensive set of laws that includes principles and guidelines for every component of human living. The main objectives of Shariah are known as Maqasid al-shariah, which are meant for humans to live a successful, enjoyable, and an easy life both here on earth and in the hereafter compounded within certain boundaries. Shariah also has a comprehensive set of principles and approaches according to universal objectives to manage financial transactions and wealth accordingly. It simultaneously offers several prohibitions and restrictions so that in the end, humans achieve a society that is fair, just, and transparent. This study concentrates on the approaches and principles of Islamic financial dealings and transactions of wealth according to Shariah’s objectives, or Maqasid al-shariah.
Keywords: Maqasid Al-shariah, Islamic finance, Wealth, Riba
Reference: Elahi, M.M., and Alam, M.M. Dealing of Wealth and Financial Transaction in Islam: Maqasid Al-Shariah based Principles and Approaches. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Islamic Jurisprudence in the 21st Century 2014, Department of Fiqh & Usul al-Fiqh, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia, Sep 23-25.
Keywords: Maqasid Al-shariah, Islamic finance, Wealth, Riba
Reference: Elahi, M.M., and Alam, M.M. Dealing of Wealth and Financial Transaction in Islam: Maqasid Al-Shariah based Principles and Approaches. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Islamic Jurisprudence in the 21st Century 2014, Department of Fiqh & Usul al-Fiqh, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia, Sep 23-25.
Research Interests:
Entrepreneurship is indispensable for progress of human civilization and effectively exploring and exploiting existing and potential resources for wellbeing of humanity. Modern economics operates basically through two major modes of... more
Entrepreneurship is indispensable for progress of human civilization and effectively exploring and exploiting existing and potential resources for wellbeing of humanity. Modern economics operates basically through two major modes of entrepreneurships : the market/private sector economics relying on commercial entrepreneurships (self-interest centric) and the state/public sector economics relying on state entrepreneurships (public-wellbeing centric). However, both individually and jointly, have failed to ensure economics’ fundamental goal of wellbeing for human societies. In response, social enterprise economics (third sector), which features cooperatives and not-for-profit social enterprises in the name of foundations, trusts/awqāf, social businesses, and similar undertakings, has emerged as a make-up strategy to meet the minimum unmet requirements for social wellbeing. However, there is a strongly felt belief that the social enterprise economics needs to be broadened and mainstreamed in order to include entirely charitable institutions, predominantly not-for-profit operations, and predominantly for-profit businesses but blended with social justice via provision of social welfare programs like corporate social responsibility, etc., for its emancipation as a major economic system to be able to play a leading role for ensuring desirable economic growth and development. Islamic entrepreneurship, which is basically a community-centric mode of business initiative, is closely related to social entrepreneurship. It is an antidote to the problem of intolerable economic and social dualism and a natural strategy against all forms of capitalist exploitation to control world resources, like, in the past, through European colonialism, and now, through American-led state terrorism. It is the natural guard against economic inequity, wealth concentration, and social divides. Based on its potential and using examples from Bangladesh and Malaysia, we contend that the Islamic style social entrepreneurship is intellectually and operationally superior and more efficient for effectively widening and mainstreaming community-centric social enterprise economics to ensure development with equity and social justice. The paper aims to put forward social enterprise economics (third sector) for dialogue and research in the context of effective functioning of modern economies ensuring community wellbeing.
Key words: entrepreneurship, community-centric, American-led terrorism, not for-profit business, economic & social dualism, capitalist exploitation, social justice, public sector, private sector.
Key words: entrepreneurship, community-centric, American-led terrorism, not for-profit business, economic & social dualism, capitalist exploitation, social justice, public sector, private sector.
Research Interests:
Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) is the basis to measure the efficiency of the capital market under current capitalistic system. This paper try to point out the efficiency and performance of Shariah based Islamic share market according... more
Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) is the basis to measure the efficiency of the capital market under current capitalistic system. This paper try to point out the efficiency and performance of Shariah based Islamic share market according to the experiences from EMH. Due to the chronic financial crisis and failure to protect investors’ rights, the world is looking for an alternative form of capital market for future world guidance. Based on this emerge necessity, this paper also provides the prospects of Islamic share market including a guideline about the Shariah principles that will help the regulatory authorities, investors and researchers to proceed further to establish Islamic capital market as an alternative form of conventional market.
Key Words: Shariah, Efficient market hypothesis (EMH), Islamic share market, Islamic banking, Zakaah on Share
Key Words: Shariah, Efficient market hypothesis (EMH), Islamic share market, Islamic banking, Zakaah on Share
Research Interests:
World’s emphasis on population stabilization policy has led the fertility rate to fall and the work-age population for the future to shrink. This will push the world to a serious economic crisis more particularly after 2050 when only a... more
World’s emphasis on population stabilization policy has led the fertility rate to fall and the work-age population for the future to shrink. This will push the world to a serious economic crisis more particularly after 2050 when only a decreasing size of the work-age population will be available to look after an increasing size of the dependent population. The paper argues that to maintain a sustainable economic growth and support the associated technological advancements in the future there will be demand for a larger labor force. It notes that the industrialized countries are now managing with the migrant population drawn mostly from the high fertility low income countries. But in the world context this is only a zero-sum game without increasing the stock of world’s total labor force. Therefore world population needs to grow to meet the growing demand for a larger labor force for economic sustainability. It also argues that since the earth’s population carrying capacity largely depends on the technological capability and the life style of the society the world should not be scared of a planned population growth. The paper concludes that in the future the social engineering and technological innovations may give birth to an ethics and environment friendly ‘slim-green’ life style founded on the principle of ‘simple living and high thinking’, which will increase the earth’s population absorption capacity. Along with the issue of increasing earth’s population absorption capacity, the issue of producing more food in the regions where it is needed should be addressed with political will and resolutions of the global community.
Jel Code: J11, J22, O15
Keywords: Population growth; fertility rate; work-age population; dependency ratio; economic sustainability; zero-sum game; ‘child bearing habitual gap’; ‘work-age formation gap’; ‘slim-green’ life style.
Jel Code: J11, J22, O15
Keywords: Population growth; fertility rate; work-age population; dependency ratio; economic sustainability; zero-sum game; ‘child bearing habitual gap’; ‘work-age formation gap’; ‘slim-green’ life style.
Research Interests:
The rapid changes in climatic factors have different types of adverse impacts on agriculture in Malaysia. In order to face and manage the climate change vulnerabilities, farmers are trying to adapt in various ways. This empirical study... more
The rapid changes in climatic factors have different types of adverse impacts on agriculture in Malaysia. In order to face and manage the climate change vulnerabilities, farmers are trying to adapt in various ways. This empirical study analyzed the current level of technological usage by paddy farmers to adapt to the situation. This study used primary data collected through a questionnaire survey on the paddy farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA) at North-West Selangor, Malaysia in 2009-10. This study discussed the availability of machineries by individual farmers and their usage for adaptation to climate vulnerabilities. To determine the impacts of technology on the paddy production, this study analyzed time series regression at macro level and cross sectional regression at micro level. Further it discussed the adaptability of farmers based on the current level of technology usage and also the requirements of new technological supports for adaptation. It found that technology has a significant positive relationship with paddy productions, but farmers do not have adequate technology and related skills to adapt to climate change vulnerabilities. Farmers need several technological innovations and relevant supports to adapt to the climatic vulnerability.
Key words: Climatic Change; Agricultural Productivity; Paddy; Adaptation; Technology; Malaysia
Key words: Climatic Change; Agricultural Productivity; Paddy; Adaptation; Technology; Malaysia
Research Interests:
The concept of Islamic entrepreneurship centres on ensuring community wellbeing as an important priority. Historically, waqf played a very important role in the Islamic economic system to render exemplary welfare services in the areas of... more
The concept of Islamic entrepreneurship centres on ensuring community wellbeing as an important priority. Historically, waqf played a very important role in the Islamic economic system to render exemplary welfare services in the areas of health care, education, social welfare, environmental and other community based programmes. However, in the recent history there have been very few success stories of utilising waqf properties institutionally under a proper management to achieve its greater objectives. Based on literature review, this study attempts to analyse the reasons behind the successful utilisation of waqf as an effective tool of ensuring social welfare services in the past, and how this model can be replicated once again considering the current contexts. This paper will help the Islamic value centric entrepreneurs, the regulatory authorities, investors and researchers to gain an overall insight about the potentials of waqf as a tool of rendering commendable social welfare services.
Keywords: Waqf, Islamic entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, social welfare, third-sector economy.
Keywords: Waqf, Islamic entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, social welfare, third-sector economy.
Research Interests:
The gradual increase in migration is now considered as one of the central components of economic development in a labor abundance country. The returns of international migration – remittances– play a significant role for the economic... more
The gradual increase in migration is now considered as one of the central components of economic development in a labor abundance country. The returns of international migration – remittances– play a significant role for the economic development and growth of the country. Bangladesh is one of the highly populated countries. Her Balance of Payment is sustaining only based on remittance. Similarly, it has also been contributing a most important role to reduce poverty in Bangladesh. At the same time, international labor migrations also lead to a great change in sociocultural issues of home country, which is very little focused in literatures. With this view in mind this empirical study collected primary data from the Bangladeshi workers who stay in Malaysia. This study uses ordered regression and structural equation model (SEM) for analyzing data. This study found that migration causes a long-term gap in the family and social relationship. It also has very in-depth negative impacts on personal, family and social life. Moreover, migration has also linkage with personal religious changes, helping in social issues, and changing the social value.
Key Words: International migration; remittance; labor; sociocultural impacts; structural equation model (SEM); ordered regression; Bangladesh
Key Words: International migration; remittance; labor; sociocultural impacts; structural equation model (SEM); ordered regression; Bangladesh
Research Interests:
The production and consumption of Khat is deep-rooted phenomena in Yemeni society, but it has significant effects on environment sustainability of the country. This study aims to find out the impacts of Khat production on environment... more
The production and consumption of Khat is deep-rooted phenomena in Yemeni society, but it has significant effects on environment sustainability of the country. This study aims to find out the impacts of Khat production on environment based on a survey of 2073 respondents from Taiz town, which was divided in three sections- Almothafar, Salah, Cairo, in Yemen. Based on primary data, ordinary regression model employed to evaluate the relationships between Khat production and its impacts on environment in Yemen. The finding of the study will help the policy makers to deal with the problem in more efficient ways.
Key words: Khat; Agriculture; Environment; Yemen
Key words: Khat; Agriculture; Environment; Yemen
Research Interests:
Economic zone or export processing zone is usually a purpose-built industrial park with dedicated infrastructure designed to suit the needs of investors from foreign and host countries. It is an innovative mechanism to attract and... more
Economic zone or export processing zone is usually a purpose-built industrial park with dedicated infrastructure designed to suit the needs of investors from foreign and host countries. It is an innovative mechanism to attract and motivate multinational companies to settle their Greenfield investments for industrialization and economic globalization especially in the developing countries. In order to tempt foreign investors into the zones the host developing countries offer a variety of incentives and inducements including tax holidays, tariff and duty-free imports and exports, an ample supply of relatively cheap labor, and access to markets. By doing so they are able to enjoy numerous economic benefits that are otherwise unavailable. Thus, in the developing countries, EPZ may act as a tool for empowering the local economy to gain multiple capabilities and go global increasingly. Nonetheless, it is not a magic wand. Only if it is smartly designed and managed, as is in the case of Malaysia, it may create wonder, otherwise not, as can be observed from the experiences of the weakly designed and managed scheme in Bangladesh. Economic zones in Malaysia are known as Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and Economic Development Corridor (EDC); in Bangladesh these are known as Export Processing Zones (EPZs). In Malaysia the scheme has been a great success, to the extent that it stands as the cornerstone of national industrialization program. On the other hand, in Bangladesh it achieved only a modest success. It is suggested that Bangladesh borrows a leaf from the rich experiences of Malaysia’s FTZ model, to overcome the deficiencies and revitalize her EPZ scheme for greater success.
Key words: Economic Zone; globalization; industrialization; Malaysia; Bangladesh
Key words: Economic Zone; globalization; industrialization; Malaysia; Bangladesh
Research Interests:
This empirical study analyzed the aggregate import demand function for Bangladesh through long run cointegration and error correction modeling. This study used the quarterly data from 1992 to 2007. This study found that the import volume... more
This empirical study analyzed the aggregate import demand function for Bangladesh through long run cointegration and error correction modeling. This study used the quarterly data from 1992 to 2007. This study found that the import volume is cointegrated with relative import price, real GDP, and real reserve. Import-demand is largely explained by real GDP, and is comparatively less sensitive to import price changes. The long run relationship between import demand and tariff rate suggests that the impact of trade liberalization, captured by the reduction in tariff rate, has significant positive impact on import demand, whereas, real foreign exchange reserve has found to show no significant impact on the aggregate import demand. Natural calamities was found responsible for increasing the import demand and also for the adverse balance of trade position of Bangladesh.
Key Words: Trade liberalization, Import, Bangladesh, Cointegration, Error correction model
Key Words: Trade liberalization, Import, Bangladesh, Cointegration, Error correction model
Research Interests:
Bangladesh is currently facing the challenges of modernizing and expanding its key infrastructure services, including roads, power, gas, and port, etc. Like many other countries, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has been appreciated as an... more
Bangladesh is currently facing the challenges of modernizing and expanding its key infrastructure services, including roads, power, gas, and port, etc. Like many other countries, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has been appreciated as an important way out for infrastructure development in Bangladesh, but the PPP project implementation capability especially regulatory framework, transaction expertise, and PPP financing facilities have not improved over the last decade. There needs to have a strong incentive for the executing agencies who will bring more bankable PPP projects for the private sector. So far, total 41 PPP projects have been completed in Bangladesh with total investment value of US$ 2.9339 billion, and another 70 projects are in the national PPP pipeline. Many PPP projects that already have been awarded are not performing well due to weaknesses in transaction expertise of the relevant government agencies including negotiation and dispute resolution ability, and flows in concessional agreement, etc. Moreover, based on the operational experience of former Private sector Infrastructure Guidelines, the recently adopted PPP policy and strategy in many cases do not suffice to address many of the challenges that the different executing agencies are facing while progressing PPP projects. It is a paradox that the PPP project pipeline development and implementation is not able to keep pace with the growing demand for infrastructure projects and, at the same time, government is also not able to utilize the allocated budget for the PPP. Under this circumstance, it is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing PPP project framework and the relevant policies. At the same time, findings the challenges are also very essential for the policy makers to deal the issue in a best possible way. This paper analyze the completed and running PPP projects in Bangladesh to draw lesson in the perspectives of the institutional, regulatory, finance, and other policy relevant issues for the development of PPP projects in Bangladesh. The paper specially focuses on up-front project development constrains and corresponding solutions for creating a greater PPP enable environment in the country.
JEL Classification Codes: H54, L52, R42
Keywords: Public Private Partnership, Project Development, Infrastructure Development, Bangladesh
JEL Classification Codes: H54, L52, R42
Keywords: Public Private Partnership, Project Development, Infrastructure Development, Bangladesh
Research Interests:
Changes in climatic factors have different impacts on different social groups. But the farmers are the most vulnerable group because of their direct and indirect dependency on climatic factors. To understand the nature of the... more
Changes in climatic factors have different impacts on different social groups. But the farmers are the most vulnerable group because of their direct and indirect dependency on climatic factors. To understand the nature of the socioeconomic impacts of climatic changes on the farmers in Malaysia, this study has used primary data collected through questionnaire survey on 198 paddy producing farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area at North-West Selangor, Malaysia, in 2009. It has used descriptive statistics, ordinal scale, and percentile as tools of analysis. The study finds that climatic changes have adverse impacts on agricultural productivity, profitability, income equality, employment, farmer’s health, and government subsidy policy. 68% farmers perceive that paddy cultivation is no longer profitable due to climatic changes induced low productivity. 57% farmers have expressed their desire to change from full-time to part-time engagement in agriculture and look for part-time job in off-farm activities. The Kuznets ratio and Gini coefficient of income distribution of the paddy farmers in the study area are found to be 2.88 and 0.443 respectively. These indicate that there is highly unequal distribution of income. Climatic changes are contributing to the widening of this income gap, because poor farmers are affected more by the adverse effects of climatic changes. The current government subsidy policy is not found appropriate and adequate to support and encourage the farmers to adequately adapt to the climatic changes and to reduce the inequality among the farming community.
Key words: Climatic Change; Income Equality; Poverty; Health Hazard; Adaptation; Agriculture; Paddy; Malaysia
Key words: Climatic Change; Income Equality; Poverty; Health Hazard; Adaptation; Agriculture; Paddy; Malaysia
Research Interests:
The rapid changes in climatic factors have different types of adverse impacts on agriculture in Malaysia. In order to face and manage the climate change vulnerabilities, farmers are trying to adapt in various ways. This empirical study... more
The rapid changes in climatic factors have different types of adverse impacts on agriculture in Malaysia. In order to face and manage the climate change vulnerabilities, farmers are trying to adapt in various ways. This empirical study analyzed the current level of technological usage by paddy farmers to adapt to the situation. This study used primary data collected through a questionnaire survey on the paddy farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA) at North-West Selangor, Malaysia in 2009-10. This study discussed the availability of machineries by individual farmers and their usage for adaptation to climate vulnerabilities. To determine the impacts of technology on the paddy production, this study analyzed time series regression at macro level and cross sectional regression at micro level. Further it discussed the adaptability of farmers based on the current level of technology usage and also the requirements of new technological supports for adaptation. It found that technology has a significant positive relationship with paddy productions, but farmers do not have adequate technology and related skills to adapt to climate change vulnerabilities. Farmers need several technological innovations and relevant supports to adapt to the climatic vulnerability.
Key words: Climatic Change; Agricultural Productivity; Paddy; Adaptation; Technology; Malaysia
Key words: Climatic Change; Agricultural Productivity; Paddy; Adaptation; Technology; Malaysia
Research Interests:
Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. This research aims at finding out the level of household food security among the poor and low-income households in Malaysia. This study is based... more
Sustainable food security at household level is one of the emerging issues for all nations. This research aims at finding out the level of household food security among the poor and low-income households in Malaysia. This study is based on primary data that were collected in Jul-Oct 2012 through a questionnaire survey on 460 poor and low income households from East Coast Economic Region of Malaysia. The samples were selected from E-Kasih poor household database based on cluster random sampling technique. Household food security was measured by the USAID-HFIA model. The results indicated that 52.8% household are food secure, 23.3% of households are mildly food insecure, 14.3% of are moderately food insecure, and 9.6% of households are severely food insecure. Moreover, 69.8% of the households are found under this Anxiety and uncertainty domain, 47.2% of them are under insufficient food quality domain, and 17% of the households are under insufficient food intake and its physical consequences domain of HFIA. However, the total HFIA Scale Score is 5.18, which indicates overall lower the level of food insecurity (access) of a household. It also found that the majority of the households belonging to the poor and hard core poor groups are food insecure, but more than one third of the households in the non-poor low income group are also food insecure. Overall, the level of household food security ranges 52%-54% for all of the locations. Here involvements of relevant stakeholders are very important to reduce the food insecurity among the poor and low income household.
Key words: Climatic Changes; Household Food Security; Household Food Insecurity Access (HFIA); RASCH Model; Monte Carlo Simulation
Jel Code: I32, Q54, P48
Key words: Climatic Changes; Household Food Security; Household Food Insecurity Access (HFIA); RASCH Model; Monte Carlo Simulation
Jel Code: I32, Q54, P48
Research Interests:
Integrating agency theory and asymmetric information theory, this study develops a decision dynamics model which could serve a benchmark for corporate businesses in their organizational decision-making processes, particularly in corporate... more
Integrating agency theory and asymmetric information theory, this study develops a decision dynamics model which could serve a benchmark for corporate businesses in their organizational decision-making processes, particularly in corporate governance. This is a conceptual study with an effort to reflect the sheer importance of corporate governance and its ability to influence stakeholders’ interests. This study argues that corporate governance must help retain the best interests of the business as well as its stakeholders and safeguard organizational resources from misuse, abuse or practice of self interests of the managers. A sound corporate governance policy requires adopting such standards and mechanisms that would provide maximally acceptable assurance that under all circumstances, all stakeholders will be fairly and equitably treated to best serve their direct or indirect financial and also non-financial interests. This study concludes that corporate governance must operate in intellectual ways to improve efficiencies and foster capabilities of the organization and to protect simultaneously the interests of all stakeholders.
Research Interests:
Climate change has mixed impacts on agriculture and the impacts are different in terms of areas, periods and crops. The changing factors of climate have been exerting strong negative impacts on Malaysian agriculture, which is apprehended... more
Climate change has mixed impacts on agriculture and the impacts are different in terms of areas, periods and crops. The changing factors of climate have been exerting strong negative impacts on Malaysian agriculture, which is apprehended to result in shortages of water and other resources for long term, worsening soil condition, disease and pest outbreaks on crops and livestock, sea-level rise, and so on. Due to climate change, agricultural productivity and profitability is declining. Despite continuous increases of government subsidy, area of paddy plantation is decreasing and the adaption practices are ineffective. As climate change is universal and its existence is indefinite, the farmers need to adapt to and find ways to mitigate the damages of climatic variation in order to sustain agricultural productivity and attain food security for them.
Key words: Climate Change, Agriculture, Food Security, Sustainability, Adaptation, Mitigation, Vulnerability, Malaysia.
Key words: Climate Change, Agriculture, Food Security, Sustainability, Adaptation, Mitigation, Vulnerability, Malaysia.
Research Interests:
Changes in climatic factors have different impacts on different social groups. But the farmers are the most vulnerable group because of their direct and indirect dependency on climatic factors. To understand the nature of the... more
Changes in climatic factors have different impacts on different social groups. But the farmers are the most vulnerable group because of their direct and indirect dependency on climatic factors. To understand the nature of the socioeconomic impacts of climatic changes on the farmers in Malaysia, this study has used primary data collected through questionnaire survey on 198 paddy producing farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area at North-West Selangor, Malaysia, in 2009. It has used descriptive statistics, ordinal scale, and percentile as tools of analysis. The study finds that climatic changes have adverse impacts on agricultural productivity, profitability, income equality, employment, farmer’s health, and government subsidy policy. 68% farmers perceive that paddy cultivation is no longer profitable due to climatic changes induced low productivity. 57% farmers have expressed their desire to change from full-time to part-time engagement in agriculture and look for part-time job in off-farm activities. The Kuznets ratio and Gini coefficient of income distribution of the paddy farmers in the study area are found to be 2.88 and 0.443 respectively. These indicate that there is highly unequal distribution of income. Climatic changes are contributing to the widening of this income gap, because poor farmers are affected more by the adverse effects of climatic changes. The current government subsidy policy is not found appropriate and adequate to support and encourage the farmers to adequately adapt to the climatic changes and to reduce the inequality among the farming community.
Key words: Climatic Change; Income Equality; Poverty; Health Hazard; Adaptation; Agriculture; Paddy; Malaysia
Key words: Climatic Change; Income Equality; Poverty; Health Hazard; Adaptation; Agriculture; Paddy; Malaysia
Research Interests:
Climate change is proven to have had impacted the agricultural productivity, crop choice, and food security everywhere in the world. The nature, scale, frequency, and outcome of such impact differ significantly among countries, regions... more
Climate change is proven to have had impacted the agricultural productivity, crop choice, and food security everywhere in the world. The nature, scale, frequency, and outcome of such impact differ significantly among countries, regions and areas within a country. This study is an effort to empirically investigate theses issues for Malaysia using both primary and secondary data collected from and relevant to the Integrated Agriculture Development Areas in the Northwest Selangor. The results reveal that climate change phenomenon such as natural disaster, drought, flood, pest attack, plant disease, and changing the time of crop cycle have adversely been impacting Malaysian agriculture and its productivity as well as profitability. Despite continuous increases of government subsidy as well as permission only for paddy production, the paddy planting area is decreasing as the agricultural farmers often experience adverse impacts of climatic variation. So, climate change phenomenon is also depressingly impacting the state of food security among the farmers. As climate change is universal and its existence is indefinite, the farmers need to adapt to and find ways to mitigate the damages of climatic variation in order for them to sustain agricultural productivity and attain food security.
Key words: Climate Change, Agricultural Productivity, Crop Choice, Food Security, Paddy Farming, Farm Profitability, Agricultural Sustainability, Malaysia.
Key words: Climate Change, Agricultural Productivity, Crop Choice, Food Security, Paddy Farming, Farm Profitability, Agricultural Sustainability, Malaysia.
Research Interests:
Climate change is proven to have had impacted the agricultural productivity, crop choice, and food security everywhere in the world. The nature, scale, frequency, and outcome of such impact differ significantly among countries, regions... more
Climate change is proven to have had impacted the agricultural productivity, crop choice, and food security everywhere in the world. The nature, scale, frequency, and outcome of such impact differ significantly among countries, regions and areas within a country. This study is an effort to empirically investigate theses issues for Malaysia using both primary and secondary data collected from and relevant to the Integrated Agriculture Development Areas in the Northwest Selangor. The results reveal that climate change phenomenon such as natural disaster, drought, flood, pest attack, plant disease, and changing the time of crop cycle have adversely been impacting Malaysian agriculture and its productivity as well as profitability. Despite continuous increases of government subsidy as well as permission only for paddy production, the paddy planting area is decreasing as the agricultural farmers often experience adverse impacts of climatic variation. So, climate change phenomenon is also depressingly impacting the state of food security among the farmers. As climate change is universal and its existence is indefinite, the farmers need to adapt to and find ways to mitigate the damages of climatic variation in order for them to sustain agricultural productivity and attain food security.
Key words: Climate Change, Agricultural Productivity, Crop Choice, Food Security, Paddy Farming, Farm Profitability, Agricultural Sustainability, Malaysia.
Key words: Climate Change, Agricultural Productivity, Crop Choice, Food Security, Paddy Farming, Farm Profitability, Agricultural Sustainability, Malaysia.
Research Interests:
East Coast Economic Region (ECER) representing 34% of total Malaysian agricultural area, which have a good potentiality to improve productivity to reduce high poverty intensity in this area. Realizing the importance, government has taken... more
East Coast Economic Region (ECER) representing 34% of total Malaysian agricultural area, which have a good potentiality to improve productivity to reduce high poverty intensity in this area. Realizing the importance, government has taken a large development project in the ECER region in 2006, but the knowledge of the project is very limited due to limited study and unavailability of official performance report of the project. Hence this study is an attempt to explore one of the niche areas – agricultural crops- of the overall project. The initiatives of crop agricultures are establishing three agro valleys as major vegetable and short-term crop growing areas involving organized modern farming methods in a sustainable manner to improve efficiency and productivity of agricultural production of paddy, vegetables, and fruits. The prospects of the project are also very much anticipative, but there are lots of challenges to meet the target of the project. Institutional supports, physical infrastructural supports like transportations, irrigations, and preservation facilities are not adequate in this area. To meet the target and to ensure the success of the projects few more initiatives beyond the existing plan are also necessary, such as, farmer’s cooperative or institutional involvement for marketing the crops, financial supports and subsidies, cooperation among agents and departments, training to avoid environment degradations, and adaptation techniques to cope with adverse effects of climatic changes, etc.
Key words: ECER, Agropolitan, Agriculture, Rural development, Malaysia
Key words: ECER, Agropolitan, Agriculture, Rural development, Malaysia
Research Interests:
The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. Agriculture which depends heavily on climate is becoming increasingly vulnerable to risk and uncertainty. In order to face and manage the situation farmers are trying in various... more
The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. Agriculture which depends heavily on climate is becoming increasingly vulnerable to risk and uncertainty. In order to face and manage the situation farmers are trying in various ways and government and other external agencies are providing several supports to adapt to these climatic vulnerabilities. But still there is a gap between farmers’ adaptability with climate change. This study analyses paddy farmers’ perception of climatic variations and vulnerabilities and relevant supports and techniques to adapt to the situation. The data were collected through questionnaire survey on 198 paddy producing farmers in the area of Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), North-West Selangor, Malaysia. This study uses descriptive statistics, ordinal regression, percentile, and scale analysis. The study finds that most farmers do not have a clear perception of the climatic changes and vulnerabilities. Farmers’ adaptation practices to the climatic vulnerability are mostly based on their common sense responses. It suggests that farmers need necessary training and support from the government and international agencies to make them able to effectively adapt to the climatic vulnerability and avert any adverse effect on their socioeconomic sustainability and national food security. Farmers’ expectations of several new supports has no statistically significant influences on their current adaptability with climatic changes, but their priority ranking for these expected supports will help policymakers to determine the future supports for climatic change adaptation for agriculture sustainability and livelihood sustainability under adverse climatic changes scenarios, especially for Malaysia.
Key words: Agricultural Sustainability; Climate Change; Vulnerability; Adaptation; Farmer; Paddy; Malaysia
Key words: Agricultural Sustainability; Climate Change; Vulnerability; Adaptation; Farmer; Paddy; Malaysia
The ‘private’ and ‘public’ sector economics found their own strong places to play roles in the mainstream economy. At the end, however, these two systems – the private, popularly called the first sector economy, and the public, called the... more
The ‘private’ and ‘public’ sector economics found their own strong places to play roles in the mainstream economy. At the end, however, these two systems – the private, popularly called the first sector economy, and the public, called the second sector economy - both individually and jointly have been found seriously inadequate and incapable to ensuring wellbeing of human societies nationally and globally. Responding to such a situation a number of non-conventional approaches like cooperatives and social enterprises, waqaf, foundations, and other non-profit institutions, etc., together called third sector economy, were moved and promoted to ensure social justice and wellbeing of mankind. Initially it emerged as a make-up and defensive strategy of the market-state model to meet the minimum of unmet requirements in the sectors where the market and state have grossly failed. It, thus, played only a subordinate role. As a result, it could not help much to solve the problem of economic inequity, concentration of wealth, and social divides. However it is strongly felt that a broadly based third sector economic model with both not for-profit business like enterprises and for-profit businesses blended with social justice is necessary to play its role as a mainstream model not only for poverty alleviation but also for economic growth to bridge the economic and social divides. Mainstreaming the third sector is the urgent call of the day.
Islamic entrepreneurship, which is basically a community-centric mode of business initiative, is an antidote to the problem of intolerable economic and social dualism in the economies. It is a natural strategy against all forms of capitalist exploitations, like in the past through European colonialism and now through American led terrorism, to control resources. Accordingly it is the natural model for solving the problems of economic inequity, concentration of wealth, and social divides. Therefore, this study finds the Islamic mode of entrepreneurship as most suitable and effective for widening and mainstreaming the third sector economics, more particularly in the developing countries. Johor Corporation (JCorp) in Malaysia and Sheba Polly in Bangladesh are examples of two types of Islamic style third sector enterprises – one is staunchly business like initiative and the other is cost based charity initiative for social benefit. For the development and promotion of the community-centric third sector economics model, the paper recommends for urgently establishing a research and development centre on third sector economics preferably under an Islamic Research and Development Institute in any reputed university.
Key Words: Third sector economics; Islamic entrepreneurship; Social justice; Inequality; Islamic economics; Economic growth and development, Community-centric
Islamic entrepreneurship, which is basically a community-centric mode of business initiative, is an antidote to the problem of intolerable economic and social dualism in the economies. It is a natural strategy against all forms of capitalist exploitations, like in the past through European colonialism and now through American led terrorism, to control resources. Accordingly it is the natural model for solving the problems of economic inequity, concentration of wealth, and social divides. Therefore, this study finds the Islamic mode of entrepreneurship as most suitable and effective for widening and mainstreaming the third sector economics, more particularly in the developing countries. Johor Corporation (JCorp) in Malaysia and Sheba Polly in Bangladesh are examples of two types of Islamic style third sector enterprises – one is staunchly business like initiative and the other is cost based charity initiative for social benefit. For the development and promotion of the community-centric third sector economics model, the paper recommends for urgently establishing a research and development centre on third sector economics preferably under an Islamic Research and Development Institute in any reputed university.
Key Words: Third sector economics; Islamic entrepreneurship; Social justice; Inequality; Islamic economics; Economic growth and development, Community-centric
Research Interests:
The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. To adapt farmers with the changes, government and other external agencies are providing several supports, but still there is a gap between farmers’ adaptability with climate... more
The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. To adapt farmers with the changes, government and other external agencies are providing several supports, but still there is a gap between farmers’ adaptability with climate change and current level of supports. To analyze the climate change adaptability of the farmers and the required supports that farmers need, this study uses primary data that has been collected through questionnaire survey on farmers in the area of Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), North-West Selangor, Malaysia. The data has been analyzed by descriptive statistics, ordered regression, percentile and scale analysis. In Malaysia, sustainability of agriculture and relevant livelihood is strongly dependent on the external supports. Now, farmers’ adaptability to climate change needs to be focused beyond the incentive and subsidy. They also need few training, conceptual supports and technological innovation. The findings of the study are important for the policy makers and relevant agencies.
Key words: Agricultural Productivity; Climate change; Adaptation; Paddy; Malaysia
Key words: Agricultural Productivity; Climate change; Adaptation; Paddy; Malaysia
Research Interests:
East Coast Economic Region (ECER) representing 34% of total Malaysian agricultural area, which have a good potentiality to improve productivity to reduce high poverty intensity in this area. Realizing the importance, government has taken... more
East Coast Economic Region (ECER) representing 34% of total Malaysian agricultural area, which have a good potentiality to improve productivity to reduce high poverty intensity in this area. Realizing the importance, government has taken a large development project in the ECER region in 2006, but the knowledge of the project is very limited due to limited study and unavailability of official performance report of the project. Hence this study is an attempt to explore one of the niche areas – agricultural crops- of the overall project. The initiatives of crop agricultures are establishing three agro valleys as major vegetable and short-term crop growing areas involving organized modern farming methods in a sustainable manner to improve efficiency and productivity of agricultural production of paddy, vegetables, and fruits. The prospects of the project are also very much anticipative, but there are lots of challenges to meet the target of the project. Institutional supports, physical infrastructural supports like transportations, irrigations, and preservation facilities are not adequate in this area. To meet the target and to ensure the success of the projects few more initiatives beyond the existing plan are also necessary, such as, farmer’s cooperative or institutional involvement for marketing the crops, financial supports and subsidies, cooperation among agents and departments, training to avoid environment degradations, and adaptation techniques to cope with adverse effects of climatic changes, etc.
Key words: ECER, Agropolitan, Agriculture, Rural development, Malaysia
Key words: ECER, Agropolitan, Agriculture, Rural development, Malaysia
Research Interests:
Malaysia is one of the highly vulnerable countries due to climatic changes. Here the changes in climate factors cause adverse impacts on agricultural sustainability and relevant livelihood sustainability. To adapt with these changes a... more
Malaysia is one of the highly vulnerable countries due to climatic changes. Here the changes in climate factors cause adverse impacts on agricultural sustainability and relevant livelihood sustainability. To adapt with these changes a prudent adaptation policy is very important. Several countries follow different adaptation policy based on their localized socioeconomic and geographical status. While defining its adaptation policy, Malaysia also needs to consider several crucial factors. This study provides a focused guideline to prepare the adaptation policy for the agricultural sector in Malaysia.
Key words: Agricultural sustainability; Sustainable livelihood; Climate change; Adaptation; Mitigation; Policy; Malaysia
Key words: Agricultural sustainability; Sustainable livelihood; Climate change; Adaptation; Mitigation; Policy; Malaysia
Research Interests:
Problem statement: The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. To adapt farmers with the changes, government and other external agencies are providing several kinds of supports, but yet the adaptability is not that high.... more
Problem statement: The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. To adapt farmers with the changes, government and other external agencies are providing several kinds of supports, but yet the adaptability is not that high. Approach: To analyze the climate change adaptability of the farmers in Malaysia, this study uses primary data that have been collected through questionnaire survey on paddy farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), North-West Selangor, Malaysia. Data have been analyzed by using descriptive statistics and ordered regression. Results: Most farmers believe that buying additional fertilizer from market is not important for their current adaptation capability with climate change. As a consequence, 75.3% of the farmers never used extra fertilizer beyond the fully subsidized quantity. But, 41.4% farmers agree that government’s supports are not enough to adequately cope with climate change. Conclusion/ Recommendations: It is found that sustainability of agriculture and farmers’ livelihood are strongly dependent on the external supports. Therefore, farmers’ adaptability to climate change needs to be addressed through steps beyond the incentives and subsidies. Farmers need training and motivational supports for the necessary adaption.
Key words: Agricultural productivity, climate change, adaptation, paddy, rainfall variability, Agricultural Development Area (IADA), crop damages, agricultural activities, farm level assessment
Key words: Agricultural productivity, climate change, adaptation, paddy, rainfall variability, Agricultural Development Area (IADA), crop damages, agricultural activities, farm level assessment
Research Interests:
The magnitude of micro-entrepreneurial activities plays a decisive role in the economic development of the rural livelihoods, especially in third world countries. Micro-entrepreneurship has always been considered as a proven instrument to... more
The magnitude of micro-entrepreneurial activities plays a decisive role in the economic development of the rural livelihoods, especially in third world countries. Micro-entrepreneurship has always been considered as a proven instrument to fight poverty in an effective manner. As a consequence, poverty alleviation through rural centric micro-entrepreneurship development has been focused for more than the last thirty five years in Bangladesh. However, despite such initiatives, the state of micro-entrepreneurship in Bangladesh has not yet reached to a satisfactory level. There are a number of prevailing factors that thwart the development of micro-entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. Among all the factors, non-institutions encompassing various political, economic, social, cultural, technological, environmental and personal factors are affecting the scopes of operating these economic activities to a significant extent. This paper attempts to identify the key non-institutional barriers that hinder the development of micro-entrepreneurship in Bangladesh, and suggests a composite policy measure to overcome such encumbrances.
Field of Research: Development Economics; Micro-entrepreneurship
Field of Research: Development Economics; Micro-entrepreneurship
Research Interests:
In spite of the complexity in defining the boundary, the concept of Economic Zones (EZ) has been evolved as a way forward for the government of the developing countries for enhancing the national trade. Similarly the recent phenomenon of... more
In spite of the complexity in defining the boundary, the concept of Economic Zones (EZ) has been evolved as a way forward for the government of the developing countries for enhancing the national trade. Similarly the recent phenomenon of widespread Public Private Partnership (PPP) practices especially in infrastructure sector is also providing a window to develop many of such economic zones through PPP model as EZ typically is capital intensive. Bangladesh has discrete success both under PPP and EZ regime. However, developing EZ under PPP model has few commercial complexities as both the public and private sector need to bear some roles and obligations one of which is selection of appropriate location for EZ development. The location study for PPP EZ development therefore receives paramount attention both from developer and lenders perspective. Such location study generally is not typical project site study by nature, rather it is more economic concentrated. This paper will try to identify the factors that are essential to consider for conducting these location studies based on the examples of Bangladesh. The paper will also identify the appropriate methods and approaches required for successful EZ development through PPP.
Key Word: Economic Zone, Location Study, Public Private Partnership, Infrastructure, Bangladesh
Key Word: Economic Zone, Location Study, Public Private Partnership, Infrastructure, Bangladesh
Research Interests:
Climate change has mixed impacts on agriculture that differ among the areas, periods and crops. The changing factors of climate has been playing very strong negative impacts on Malaysian agriculture, which is expected to result in... more
Climate change has mixed impacts on agriculture that differ among the areas, periods and crops. The changing factors of climate has been playing very strong negative impacts on Malaysian agriculture, which is expected to result in long-term water and other resource shortages, worsening soil condition, disease and pest outbreaks on crops and livestock, sea-level rise, and so on. Due to climate change agricultural productivity and profitability is declining. The farmers are the most vulnerable group who are affected both directly and indirectly through the changes of climate. The socioeconomic status of the farmers – income, poverty level, health, unemployment, demography, education, social status, land ownership, psychology etc. – are strongly influenced through climate changes. This study describes the way how climate change affects the agriculture and the socioeconomic variables of farming community in Malaysia, and provides policy recommendations and action plans to adapt the farmers to cope up properly with climate change.
Research Interests:
The implications of Public Private Partnership (PPP) concept has acknowledged utmost attention from different governments around the world especially in terms of service quality, efficiencies in procurement and risk management, extent of... more
The implications of Public Private Partnership (PPP) concept has acknowledged utmost attention from different governments around the world especially in terms of service quality, efficiencies in procurement and risk management, extent of investment undertaken by private sponsor and the ability to generate managerial and technical capabilities. Any PPP project comprises roles and responsibilities for both government and private sector. The government obligations in such PPP projects are often limited to the feasibility study, transaction support and implementing linked government or public sector projects which subsequently provide the question for the fund to be mobilized by the government for these services as up-front development. Generally a PPP project being driven by any government agency might often require going for a budgetary allocation from the central authority for performing the government side obligations, which is typically very complicated and time consuming due to the priority of the central treasury. To overcome this problem, a central PPP development facility of the government is very essential that will be used by different government agencies for developing PPP projects and fast-track project implementation.
The objective of such centralized facility within any government agency is for providing advisory services and completion of linked government sector projects, for developing an infrastructure project, through private sector, which is typically known as PPP. The Line Ministries, Executing Agencies and other Government bodies will use this facility to engage consultants and advisors for carrying out the development phase of the PPP projects such as conducting feasibility study that will essentially generate the inputs for the government to prepare the concession documents i.e. the transaction advisory services. However, another important purpose of this facility is to implement different linked public sector projects obligated by the government that may be essential predecessor for implementing some large PPP projects. Generally, land acquisition, supply of utilities such as electricity, gas water etc., link roads, transmission lines etc. fall under this category. In many cases, it has been experienced that large PPP projects are often stalled due to not completion of such linked projects on timely manner, which subsequently results government demurrages and country falling behind from receiving the service from that PPP project. The paper shows the importance of a central PPP development facility with focusing on the processes and procedures that requires for the formation and administering such central advisory facility and the modality for using it by the downstream agencies. Moreover, this paper suggests levying charges on the beneficiaries of the projects, i.e. the investors who are awarded the projects, for these up-front development supports. It is also proposed that such fund to be administered by the central treasury department of the government through a Steering Body. There should be some unit or body within the treasury for its day-to-day operationalization and management. The ability to create and mange such facility within the government mechanism will ensure a smooth partnership between the government and private sector, which will facilitate the government mandate to provide quality infrastructure service to the country people.
The objective of such centralized facility within any government agency is for providing advisory services and completion of linked government sector projects, for developing an infrastructure project, through private sector, which is typically known as PPP. The Line Ministries, Executing Agencies and other Government bodies will use this facility to engage consultants and advisors for carrying out the development phase of the PPP projects such as conducting feasibility study that will essentially generate the inputs for the government to prepare the concession documents i.e. the transaction advisory services. However, another important purpose of this facility is to implement different linked public sector projects obligated by the government that may be essential predecessor for implementing some large PPP projects. Generally, land acquisition, supply of utilities such as electricity, gas water etc., link roads, transmission lines etc. fall under this category. In many cases, it has been experienced that large PPP projects are often stalled due to not completion of such linked projects on timely manner, which subsequently results government demurrages and country falling behind from receiving the service from that PPP project. The paper shows the importance of a central PPP development facility with focusing on the processes and procedures that requires for the formation and administering such central advisory facility and the modality for using it by the downstream agencies. Moreover, this paper suggests levying charges on the beneficiaries of the projects, i.e. the investors who are awarded the projects, for these up-front development supports. It is also proposed that such fund to be administered by the central treasury department of the government through a Steering Body. There should be some unit or body within the treasury for its day-to-day operationalization and management. The ability to create and mange such facility within the government mechanism will ensure a smooth partnership between the government and private sector, which will facilitate the government mandate to provide quality infrastructure service to the country people.
Research Interests:
The decision of crop selection and the output of agricultural production are highly determined through the environmental factors, especially rainfall and temperature. In the tropical area, particularly in Malaysia, influences of these... more
The decision of crop selection and the output of agricultural production are highly determined through the environmental factors, especially rainfall and temperature. In the tropical area, particularly in Malaysia, influences of these exogenous variables are so high that overall agricultural productions are now vulnerable. Crops are affected through rainfall in two different ways- high and low rainfall. Avoiding the problem of low rainfall is now possible through irrigation, but over rainfall at the end of crop cycle causes destructive damages of the output. Shifting crop cycle is also not fruitful due to un-predictive changes of rainfall. All combination of crop cycle is also affected in similar pattern. Government subsidy in agricultural sector is remarkably increasing, but farmers are not able to cope-up properly with the environmental changes, especially for the cash crops and seasonal crops production. Moreover, due to poor profit margin in agricultural sector, young and educated people are shifting to off-farm activities, causing further decline in the rate of agricultural productivity. In addition, the socioeconomic conditions of the farmers- income, poverty level, health, unemployment, demography, education, social status, land ownership, psychology etc. - are also influenced by the climate change. This empirical study shows the evidence how variability of climate change, especially variability of rainfall, affects the agricultural output, and socioeconomic status of the farmer using both secondary and primary data analysis. This paper on the paddy sector in North West Selangor, Malaysia also provides policy recommendations and action plans for the farmers to adapt and to cope up properly with climate change.
Key words: Climate Change, Rainfall, Agricultural sustainability, Agricultural productivity, Livelihood, Poverty
Key words: Climate Change, Rainfall, Agricultural sustainability, Agricultural productivity, Livelihood, Poverty
Research Interests:
See the attached Poster
See the attached Poster
The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. To adapt farmers with the changes, government and other external agencies are providing several supports, but still there is a gap between farmers’ adaptability with climate... more
The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. To adapt farmers with the changes, government and other external agencies are providing several supports, but still there is a gap between farmers’ adaptability with climate change and current level of supports. To analyze the climate change adaptability of the farmers and the required supports that farmers need, this study uses primary data that has been collected through questionnaire survey on farmers in the area of Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), North-West Selangor, Malaysia. The data has been analyzed by descriptive statistics, ordered regression, percentile and scale analysis. Here, sustainability of agriculture and relevant livelihood is strongly dependent on the external supports. Now, farmers’ adaptability to climate change needs to be focused beyond the incentive and subsidy. They also need few training, conceptual supports and technological innovation. The findings of the study are important for the policy makers and relevant agencies.
Research Interests:
Bangladesh is currently facing the challenges of modernizing and expanding its key infrastructure services, including roads, power, gas, and port, etc. Like many other countries, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has been appreciated as an... more
Bangladesh is currently facing the challenges of modernizing and expanding its key infrastructure services, including roads, power, gas, and port, etc. Like many other countries, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has been appreciated as an important way out for infrastructure development in Bangladesh, but the PPP project implementation capability especially regulatory framework, transaction expertise, and PPP financing facilities have not improved over the last decade. There needs to have a strong incentive for the executing agencies who will bring more bankable PPP projects for the private sector. So far, total 41 PPP projects have been completed in Bangladesh with total investment value of US$ 2.9339 billion, and another 70 projects are in the national PPP pipeline. Many PPP projects that already have been awarded are not performing well due to weaknesses in transaction expertise of the relevant government agencies including negotiation and dispute resolution ability, and flows in concessional agreement, etc. Moreover, based on the operational experience of former Private sector Infrastructure Guidelines, the recently adopted PPP policy and strategy in many cases do not suffice to address many of the challenges that the different executing agencies are facing while progressing PPP projects. It is a paradox that the PPP project pipeline development and implementation is not able to keep pace with the growing demand for infrastructure projects and, at the same time, government is also not able to utilize the allocated budget for the PPP. Under this circumstance, it is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing PPP project framework and the relevant policies. At the same time, findings the challenges are also very essential for the policy makers to deal the issue in a best possible way. This paper analyze the completed and running PPP projects in Bangladesh to draw lesson in the perspectives of the institutional, regulatory, finance, and other policy relevant issues for the development of PPP projects in Bangladesh. The paper specially focuses on up-front project development constrains and corresponding solutions for creating a greater PPP enable environment in the country.
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Bangladesh witnessed a surge in remittances inflow since 2002, especially as measures had been taken to encourage remitters to send their money through official channels. The multi-faceted benefits generated from remittances include... more
Bangladesh witnessed a surge in remittances inflow since 2002, especially as measures had been taken to encourage remitters to send their money through official channels. The multi-faceted benefits generated from remittances include increasing the living standards of recipient households, easing national saving-investment and exports-imports gap, and the building up of foreign exchange reserves. Reaping continuous benefits from remittances depends on addressing two key issues, namely increasing number of remitters, particularly skilled and professionals and maintaining the sustainability of remittances inflow. Though the remittances inflow into Bangladesh is increasing and is proportionate to the growth in world remittance flows, continued increases are not guaranteed. This paper attempts to analyze the present performance of remittances inflows in Bangladesh as well as investigate the challenges in the acceleration of remittances inflows. The paper also suggests coherent policies that can facilitate smooth emigration, ensure sustainable remittance inflow and divert a significant share of received remittances into productive sectors aiming at achieving higher growth, generation of employment, and alleviation of poverty.
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The role of entrepreneurship development has received intense attention for a long time because of its multidimensional contribution to socioeconomic development. Micro-entrepreneurship, especially, is considered as a bridge for economic... more
The role of entrepreneurship development has received intense attention for a long time because of its multidimensional contribution to socioeconomic development. Micro-entrepreneurship, especially, is considered as a bridge for economic and social development both in micro and macro level for high poverty rate countries, such as Bangladesh. Structured institutions, who are working to develop micro-entrepreneurship, provide the financial, technical and conceptual supports. But due to lack of proper support of local non-structured institutions, development of micro-entrepreneurship in Bangladesh has not yet been able to reach its expected level. In this context, many crucial local socio-economic-cultural elements need to be considered in Bangladesh. Structured local institutions administered by local government and non-government bodies have received attention regarding their role in assisting micro-entrepreneurship, but there are numerous and varied non-structured institutions that influence the lives of local people- who are existing and potential entrepreneurs. An example of non-structured institutions is “Shalish” – a body of opinion leaders who act as guardians of the village community, and can dictate what is right and wrong, what should be done, resolve conflicts etc. Another example is “Local religious leaders” who are also significantly powerful in terms of social decisions and public sentiment. As a result, area-specific cultural, social and religious factors strongly influence local people, and these factors are promoted and manipulated by these non-structured institutions, and can act as barriers to entrepreneurial development. Therefore, to develop and ultimately foster sustainable micro-entrepreneurship in Bangladesh, focus should be made on both structured and non-structured institutional factors, and also on cooperation among these institutions.
Key Words: Micro-entrepreneurship, Socio-Economic Development, Structured Institutions, Non-structured Institutions, Bangladesh
Key Words: Micro-entrepreneurship, Socio-Economic Development, Structured Institutions, Non-structured Institutions, Bangladesh
Research Interests:
In 1987, the Brundtland Commission introduced the term “sustainable development” to highlight the needs for taking the future generations into account. The term has evolved from only focusing on the human kind to reconciliation between... more
In 1987, the Brundtland Commission introduced the term “sustainable development” to highlight the needs for taking the future generations into account. The term has evolved from only focusing on the human kind to reconciliation between humans and nature. On one hand, this evolution opens space for nature and vulnerable people to be acknowledged, on the other hand, it raises difficulties in implementing the idea due to its heterogeneity. By the mid 1990s, for instance, there were more than 100 definitions of sustainability (Marshall and Toffel, 2005). Rather than following previous scholars trying to find a general definition for sustainability, we try to approach it through the idea of translation. From this perspective, diversity is being bounded via others’ right such as a practice is wrong whenever it might harm others and not because it looks different. Based on the argument above, we look at the energy sector within Asian countries in an attempt to increase variety in understanding sustainability.
Reference: Alam, M.M, Nilaka, G.A., Nissanka, N.A., Mukherjee, S., & Fatimah, Y.A. (2013). Translation in Social and Environmental Sustainability: Case of Energy Sector in Few Asian Countries, Policy Brief of UNU-IHDP, International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP), UN University, Bonn, Germany.
Reference: Alam, M.M, Nilaka, G.A., Nissanka, N.A., Mukherjee, S., & Fatimah, Y.A. (2013). Translation in Social and Environmental Sustainability: Case of Energy Sector in Few Asian Countries, Policy Brief of UNU-IHDP, International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP), UN University, Bonn, Germany.
Research Interests:
In Rogers, D.S. (ed.), Waiting to be Heard: Preliminary Results of the 2012 Equity & Sustainability Field Hearings, Occasional Report # 1, Chapter 4, pp. 31-35, Rapid City: Initiative for Equality, South Dakota, USA.
Research Interests:
In Rogers, D.S. (ed.), Waiting to be Heard: Preliminary Results of the 2012 Equity & Sustainability Field Hearings, Occasional Report # 1, Chapter 17, pp. 129-133, Rapid City: Initiative for Equality, South Dakota, USA.
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Faced with a phenomenal growth of population the world has embarked upon a population stabilization policy that has led the fertility rate to fall and the work-age population for the future to shrink, pushing the world to a serious... more
Faced with a phenomenal growth of population the world has embarked upon a population stabilization policy that has led the fertility rate to fall and the work-age population for the future to shrink, pushing the world to a serious economic crisis more particularly after 2050 when only a decreasing size of the work-age population will be available to look after an increasing size of dependent population. The paper argues that to maintain a sustainable economic growth and support the associated technological advancements in the future there will be demand for a larger labor force. It notes that the industrialized countries are now managing with the migrant population drawn mostly from the high fertility low income countries. But in the world context this is only a zero-sum game without increasing the stock of world's total labor force. Therefore world population needs to grow to meet the growing demand for a larger labor force for economic sustainability. It also argues that since the earth's population carrying capacity largely depends on the technological capability and the life style of the society the world should not be scared of a planned population growth. The paper concludes that in the future the social engineering and technological innovations may give birth to an ethics and environment friendly 'slim-green' life style founded on the principle of 'simple living and high thinking', which will increase the earth's population absorption capacity. Along with the issue of increasing earth's population absorption capacity, the issue of producing more food in the regions where it is needed should be addressed with political will and resolutions of the global community.
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Integration of the national economy with global economy is the natural outcome and the end result of economic development processes in any nation. In the political economy of the world with unequal nations and imperfect competition the... more
Integration of the national economy with global economy is the natural outcome and the end result of economic development processes in any nation. In the political economy of the world with unequal nations and imperfect competition the north-pushed capitalist globalization is a suspect of deception for developing countries. The capitalist globalization is a project of market dogmatism founded on the Darwinist social philosophy of ‘survival of the fittest’ – the law of Jangle. It is inherently a scheme of yielding disproportionately large benefits for the efficient industrialized nations. This paper analyses the structure and management of Malaysia’s economic globalization and studies its achievements from national and international contexts. It has used a variety of econometric and statistical tools such as the augmented Dickey-Fuller test, Log-linear Regressions, Chow breakpoint test, and CUSUM test. The results reveal that globalization has made significant achievements in terms of most of the national macroeconomic goals. However, in terms of the international political economy it has failed unexpectedly. Results of the income convergence analyses show that it has failed to reduce Malaysia’s income gaps with USA and Japan, its two major trading and investment partners. It contradicts the general findings of the income convergence studies that the lower income industrializing countries are catching up to the higher income industrialized countries and slowly narrowing the income gap between them. This result, therefore, tends to suggest that even a guided and regulated globalization, like that of Malaysia, will have the tendency to yield relatively more benefits to the developed industrialized economic partners and contributes to the widening of the income gaps between them. The paper concludes that because of the blind eye of globalization to the needs and aspirations of the developing economies, these countries must pursue globalization only, cautiously, rationally, selectively, and never wholeheartedly.
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Capitalist globalization is the economic policy of integration of national economies with global economy on the basis of free market competition. It is a neoliberal prescription for industrialization and growth of the emerging economies... more
Capitalist globalization is the economic policy of integration of national economies with global economy on the basis of free market competition. It is a neoliberal prescription for industrialization and growth of the emerging economies of the South and a project of capital accumulation for the capitalist North through a process of securing disproportionate share of benefits at the expense of the developing South. Operating in this milieu of deceptive game of capitalist globalization Malaysia’s cautious and Malaysia-centric globalization approach has been found very successful at the national front, but at the international front it seriously failed to reduce Malaysia’s income gaps with its rich trade and growth partners. This therefore reconfirms the strength of deceptive nature of the capitalist globalization. The content analysis and Malaysia’s globalization experience poise to support the hypothesis that globalization has high potential to contribute to industrialization and growth of the emerging economies, but at the same time, being pursued under free market competition it has turned out to be a deceptive game of the North and cannot be trusted wholeheartedly for emancipation of the developing economies. The paper suggests for a policy of target oriented ‘inclusive globalization’, with the underlying theme of internationalization of the economies instead of globalization of trade and the perspective of ‘fair market’ instead of ‘free market’, to ensure equitable share of benefits of specialization and globalization among the participating nations.
Key words: Economic Globalization; Capitalist Globalization; Neoliberalism; Fair market; Economic Nationalism; Income Convergence; Industrial Competitiveness.
JEL Classification: C32, F13, F43, O11, O19, O47, O57, P16, P17
Key words: Economic Globalization; Capitalist Globalization; Neoliberalism; Fair market; Economic Nationalism; Income Convergence; Industrial Competitiveness.
JEL Classification: C32, F13, F43, O11, O19, O47, O57, P16, P17
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Despite a bourgeoning literature on the existence of a long-run relationship between energy consumption and economic growth, the findings have failed to establish clearly the direction of causation. A growing economy needs more energy,... more
Despite a bourgeoning literature on the existence of a long-run relationship between energy consumption and economic growth, the findings have failed to establish clearly the direction of causation. A growing economy needs more energy, which is exacerbated by growing population. Evidence suggests that financial development can reduce overall energy consumption by achieving energy efficiency. Economic growth and energy consumption in Malaysia have been rising in tandem over the past several years.
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“The Green Economy is a broad and aggregate concept of sustainable economy, sustainable livelihood, sustainable society, sustainable environment, and sustainable development, but it is not really Green until the most deprived person gets... more
“The Green Economy is a broad and aggregate concept of sustainable economy, sustainable livelihood, sustainable society, sustainable environment, and sustainable development, but it is not really Green until the most deprived person gets the access of food, security and the core opportunities of mainstream sustainable practices at local and global level.”
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See the attached file and link.
See the newsletter in the attachment
This article discuss a brief of the performance and challenges of remittance inflows into Bangladesh
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Research Interests:
This investigation quantified spatial variability of heavy metals and followed methods of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to estimate the hazard indices as well as cancer risks associated with consuming fish caught in the... more
This investigation quantified spatial variability of heavy metals and followed methods of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to estimate the hazard indices as well as cancer risks associated with consuming fish caught in the waters of the Langat river basin area, Malaysia. The calculation of metal pollution index (MPI) was carried out to classify the study area according to the level of contamination and the order of stations from highest to lowest MPI values was Langat river > Cempaka lake > Engineering pond > Pond B > Pond A > Jugra > Bandar. The level of exposure due to the consumption of each chemical in Tilapia fish tissue was estimated in an average daily dose equation. The calculated HI ranging from 0.24 to 1.88 indicated 71% stations were in the risk level. Potential carcinogenic risks associated with the ingestion of heavy metals in Tilapia fish were evaluated probabilistically by performing 10,000 trials for Monte Carlo simulation. Cancer risk...
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AbstractContext: Water productivity is considered as an important indicator of Agriculture productivity becauseof the scarcity of freshwater. More yield or output against same or less amount of water has become theglobal... more
AbstractContext: Water productivity is considered as an important indicator of Agriculture productivity becauseof the scarcity of freshwater. More yield or output against same or less amount of water has become theglobal interest.Objectives: This study measures the productivity of water on the floodplain land in terms of Boro ricecultivation for two floodplain beels in Rajshahi Bangladesh
AbstractThe climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. Agriculture which dependsheavily on climate is becoming increasingly vulnerable to risk and uncertainty. In order toface and manage the situation, farmers are trying in... more
AbstractThe climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. Agriculture which dependsheavily on climate is becoming increasingly vulnerable to risk and uncertainty. In order toface and manage the situation, farmers are trying in various ways and government and otherexternal agencies are providing several supports to adapt to these climatic vulnerabilities.However, there is still a gap between farmers' adaptability and climate change. This studyanalyses paddy farmers' perception of climatic variations and vulnerabilities and relevantsupports and techniques to adapt to the situation. The data were collected throughquestionnaire survey on 198 paddy producing farmers in the area of Integrated AgriculturalDevelopment Area (IADA), North-West Selangor, Malaysia. This study uses descriptivestatistics, ordinal regression, percentile, and scale analysis. The study finds that most farmersdo not have a clear perception of the climatic changes and vulnerabilities. Farmers'ada...
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Research Interests:
It seems to have been apparent in developing nations that economic growth and urbanization are always interrelated. Malaysia's rapid economic growth has also resulted in a considerable growth of urbanization. As gleaned from the other... more
It seems to have been apparent in developing nations that economic growth and urbanization are always interrelated. Malaysia's rapid economic growth has also resulted in a considerable growth of urbanization. As gleaned from the other side of the coin, the process of such urbanization had twisted numerous negative impacts on the socioeconomic aspects of the urban low income and poor communities living in the low-cost flats and squatters. One of the major impacts of Malaysia's rapid urbanization is the transformation in the socio-economic profile of the urban low income and poor communities. This paper aims to determine and analyze the socio-economic indicators affecting the profile of the urban low income and poor communities residing in the squatters and low-cost flats of Kuala Lumpur city, Malaysia. To pursue the objective, the study has conducted a field survey, collected primary data from the level of living conditions of the urban low income and poor households and has ...
Research Interests: Economic Sociology, Geography, Economics, Socioeconomics, Poverty, and 12 moreMalaysia, Urban Studies, Urban Sociology, Urban Poverty, Urbanization, Malaysian Studies, Social Science Research Network, Descriptive Statistics, Socioeconomic Status, Kuala Lumpur, Socio-Economic Profile of Students, and POOR COMMUNITIES
Bangladesh is the largest floodplain land of the world, which counted 80% land areas and 73% of households of the country. In the floodplain beel area, there are three types of fishermen – part-time, full-time, and subsistence – who... more
Bangladesh is the largest floodplain land of the world, which counted 80% land areas and 73% of households of the country. In the floodplain beel area, there are three types of fishermen – part-time, full-time, and subsistence – who mostly depends on the fishing in the monsoon time. However, due to environment degradation and over exploitation of resources the fish production in these beel s has dropped down significantly. Therefore to ensure the efficient ways of harvesting and to ensure the socioeconomic welfare of the fishermen, understanding the nature and efficiency of available gears is very important. To measure the productivity of locally used gears this study collected primary data from the beel Sholiamary and beel Gheramary area from Mymensingh Sadar in Bangladesh through a questionnaire survey based on simple stratified random sampling method. The data were analyzed though descriptive statistics, percentile analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) F-test, Post Hoc (...
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Calculated under the framework of economic-profit counting, the productivity of microcredit in Bangladesh is found very low. In this survey about 48% of the borrowers had to compromise their normal wages for self-employed labor to be able... more
Calculated under the framework of economic-profit counting, the productivity of microcredit in Bangladesh is found very low. In this survey about 48% of the borrowers had to compromise their normal wages for self-employed labor to be able to pay the high interest for the credit. Similarly its social productivity is also found marginal. However, about 90% of the borrowers felt comfortable with microcredit even at so high interest rate seemingly to avoid losing or compromising their social and political empowerment at the hands of the local moneylenders or relatives. Borrowers give high value to their socio-political empowerments and are ready to compromise normal wages for their self-employed labor. In the game of political economy of credit for the poor, microcredit is seen as a means of protecting and enhancing sociopolitical empowerments of the low income and distressed people in the society and is appraised as a credible social than economic institution.
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The Sundarnbans mangrove forest has been an immense source of aquatic resources from time immemorial. Among the resources, harvesting of Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii de Man 1879) plays an important role in the economy... more
The Sundarnbans mangrove forest has been an immense source of aquatic resources from time immemorial. Among the resources, harvesting of Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii de Man 1879) plays an important role in the economy of the country, therefore, this investigation was carried out to assess the Gear Efficiency for Harvesting Artisanal Giant Freshwater Prawn Fisheries from the Sundarbans Mangrove Ecosystem in Bangladesh. Four types of non-mechanized crafts made of fourteen types of wood were found in harvesting Giant Freshwater Prawn. Crafts were varied from 6.25±0.35 to 8.2±0.71 m in length, 1.1±0.14 to 1.75±0.36 m in breadth and 0.65±1.07 to 1.55±3.16 m in depth with a carrying capacity of 0.40 - 1.00 MT with an economic life of 10±2.11 years. A total of eight types of gears, namely, Hookline, Behundijal, Badhajal, Charpata, Chandijal, Gillnet, Kathijal and KhalPata were found in Giant Freshwater Prawn fishing. Among them the Hookline was the only main primary ac...
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Climate and agriculture highly interrelated. Agriculture is highly dependent on the climatic factors. The climatic factors as well as other factors that are determined by climate cause vulnerability of agriculture and agricultural... more
Climate and agriculture highly interrelated. Agriculture is highly dependent on the climatic factors. The climatic factors as well as other factors that are determined by climate cause vulnerability of agriculture and agricultural production. Using a survey method this study aims to determine the impacts of climatic change on agricultural vulnerability in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), West Selangor, Malaysia. Results suggest that over the last 5 years vulnerability of the factors like, injurious insects, high temperature, soil fertility loss, and cost of input materials increased greatly due to climatic changes; and the vulnerability of the factors like shortage of rainfall, excessive rainfall, and labor scarcity increased moderately during this period. It is projected that due to climate change agricultural production sustainability will become vulnerable in Malaysia by 2020
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In spite of the complexity in defining the boundary, the concept of Economic Zones (EZ) has been evolved as a way forward for the government of the developing countries for enhancing the national trade. Similarly the recent phenomenon of... more
In spite of the complexity in defining the boundary, the concept of Economic Zones (EZ) has been evolved as a way forward for the government of the developing countries for enhancing the national trade. Similarly the recent phenomenon of widespread Public Private Partnership (PPP) practices especially in infrastructure sector is also providing a window to develop many of such economic zones through PPP model as EZ typically is capital intensive. Bangladesh has discrete success both under PPP and EZ regime. However, developing EZ under PPP model has few commercial complexities as both the public and private sector need to bear some roles and obligations one of which is selection of appropriate location for EZ development. The location study for PPP EZ development therefore receives paramount attention both from developer and lenders perspective. Such location study generally is not typical project site study by nature, rather it is more economic concentrated. This paper will try to i...
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This paper primarily examines whether Malaysia has had experienced any structural breaks in comparison with its main two trading partners, namely the USA and Japan in 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. It also discusses the implications of... more
This paper primarily examines whether Malaysia has had experienced any structural breaks in comparison with its main two trading partners, namely the USA and Japan in 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. It also discusses the implications of such structural breaks to Malaysia’s economic globalization at the international level. Using some econometric and statistical tools such as the ADF test, transformed lag equation, Chow Breakpoint test, and CUSUM test, the study reveals that only at 1% level of significance income ratio of Japan and Malaysia has had experienced structural breaks in terms of GDP during the periods 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. In respect of GNI, the study reveals that only at 5% level of significance their income ratio has had experienced structural breaks during these periods. The study further reveals that income ratio of the USA and Malaysia does not have any structural break both in respect of GNI and GDP.
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The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. Agriculture which depends heavily on climate is becoming increasingly vulnerable to risk and uncertainty. In order to face and manage the situation, farmers are trying in various... more
The climatic factors are changing very rapidly in Malaysia. Agriculture which depends heavily on climate is becoming increasingly vulnerable to risk and uncertainty. In order to face and manage the situation, farmers are trying in various ways and government and other external agencies are providing several supports to adapt to these climatic vulnerabilities. However, there is still a gap between farmers’ adaptability and climate change. This study analyses paddy farmers’ perception of climatic variations and vulnerabilities and relevant supports and techniques to adapt to the situation. The data were collected through questionnaire survey on 198 paddy producing farmers in the area of Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), North-West Selangor, Malaysia. This study uses descriptive statistics, ordinal regression, percentile, and scale analysis. The study finds that most farmers do not have a clear perception of the climatic changes and vulnerabilities. Farmers’ adaptation p...
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Agricultural contribution to GDP in Malaysia has been declining since 1970. The usages of agricultural land are also gradually decreasing. Even within the total agricultural area, most of the land has been used for industrial crops, and... more
Agricultural contribution to GDP in Malaysia has been declining since 1970. The usages of agricultural land are also gradually decreasing. Even within the total agricultural area, most of the land has been used for industrial crops, and the ratio between industrial crops and food crops is increasing. Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but as a low rate of productivity, farmers are engaged on part time basis. Therefore, it seems necessary to know the socioeconomic characteristics of the paddy farmers, their livelihood, and agricultural sustainability for policy implementation and its evaluation. This study analyzes the current profile of the paddy farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA), NorthWest Selangor, Malaysia based on primary data. The data was collected through a questionnaire survey. Findings of the study suggest policy recommendations and action plans for the improvement of the farmers’ livelihood. The findings of the study are important for the...
Research Interests: Business, Geography, Economics, Development Studies, Social Sciences, and 15 moreAgricultural Development, Agricultural Economics, Productivity, Agriculture, Livelihood, Social Science Research Network, Socioeconomic Status, Agricultural land use change, Action Plan, Policy Implementation, Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, IT Evaluation, Sustainability, Questionnaire Survey, and agricultural land
The number of Muslim tourists has surged in recent years due to increased number of Muslim population with higher segment of better educated and more prosperous Muslim community. Although this is undoubtedly an opportunity for the hotel... more
The number of Muslim tourists has surged in recent years due to increased number of Muslim population with higher segment of better educated and more prosperous Muslim community. Although this is undoubtedly an opportunity for the hotel industry, the unique religious and cultural needs of Muslims pose some challenges for hoteliers. A response to this has been the development of halal hotels which offer food, accommodation and entertainment that is halal. While establishing halal hotels in Muslim-majority countries like Malaysia seems to be easier with the inherent good understanding of Islamic practices as well as support from the government, halal hotel industry could also give competitive advantage to Muslim-minority industry such as Thailand. It is therefore pertinent and timely to look into the challenges and prospects of halal hotel industry in Malaysia and Thailand. The comparative research framework must include a considerable number of hotels encompassing a variety of scales...
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The share of agriculture to GDP is continuously declining in Malaysia, but agricultural sector is very crucial to ensure food security, employment generation, socioeconomic improvement, economic growth, poverty reduction, and overall... more
The share of agriculture to GDP is continuously declining in Malaysia, but agricultural sector is very crucial to ensure food security, employment generation, socioeconomic improvement, economic growth, poverty reduction, and overall achievement of vision 2020. The East Coast Economic Region (ECER) represents 34% of total national agricultural area, which has a good potentiality to improve productivity and reduce high poverty intensity in this area. Realizing the importance, Malaysian government has taken a large development project in the ECER region in 2006, but much is not known about the project due to limited number of study and unavailability of official performance report of the project. Hence this study is an attempt to explore one of the niche areas, which is agricultural crops sector. The major initiatives of agricultural crops sector include establishing three agro valleys as major vegetable and short-term crop growing areas. These involve organized modern farming methods in a sustainable manner to improve efficiency and productivity of agricultural production of paddy, vegetables, and fruits. The prospects of the project are also very much anticipative, because the size of domestic market has grown in recent years. But there are lots of challenges to meet the target of the project. Institutional supports, physical infrastructural supports like transportations, irrigations, and preservation facilities are not adequate in this area. To meet the target and to ensure the success of the projects, some more initiatives for improvements and proper management are also necessary. These include, for example, farmer‟s cooperative or institutional involvement for marketing the crops, financial supports and subsidies, cooperation among agents and departments, training to avoid environment degradations, and adaptation techniques to cope with adverse effects of climatic changes, etc. It is expected that the relevant government authority and agencies, especially the ECER project authority, will be highly benefited from the findings of the study
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This study attempts to assess the present level of innovation status among Malaysian Government-Linked Companies (GLCs). A set of questionnaire was distributed among 134 managers and executives from these GLCs to collect the primary data... more
This study attempts to assess the present level of innovation status among Malaysian Government-Linked Companies (GLCs). A set of questionnaire was distributed among 134 managers and executives from these GLCs to collect the primary data for this study. The perspectives of executives were collected based on ten factors of innovation practices utilizing the five-point Likert scales. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data while the reliability and validity were tested using the Cronbach’s alpha test and the Skewness and Kurtosis test, respectively. Factor analysis was used to test the data consistency. The findings revealed the 82.8% of the respondents were agreeable to their firms’ emphasis on the factors of innovation. However, it was found that GLCs that were owned by the federal government placed more focus on innovation compared to the GLCs that were state-owned. This study reveals that overall the Malaysian GLCs should enhance their innovation practices by placing m...
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The aim of this paper utilizes an energy demand model to investigate the impact of trade openness on energy consumption by incorporating scale and technique, composition and urbanization effects in the case of Malaysia. The study covers... more
The aim of this paper utilizes an energy demand model to investigate the impact of trade openness on energy consumption by incorporating scale and technique, composition and urbanization effects in the case of Malaysia. The study covers the sample period of 1970-2011 using quarter frequency data. We applied the bounds testing approach in the presence of structural breaks to examine the long run relationship between the variables. The VECM Granger causality is used to detect the direction of causality between the variables. Our findings indicate that growth effect (scale and technique effect) has a positive (negative) impact on energy consumption whereas composition effect stimulates energy demand in Malaysia.. Energy consumption is positively influenced by both from openness and urbanization. This study opens new policy insights for policy making authorities to articulate a comprehensive energy and trade policy to sustain economic growth and improve the environmental quality of Mala...
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This study assesses the status of the current level of market orientation among the Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) in Malaysia. This study collected primary data based on a set of questionnaire survey among 134 executives and managers... more
This study assesses the status of the current level of market orientation among the Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) in Malaysia. This study collected primary data based on a set of questionnaire survey among 134 executives and managers of GLCs in Malaysia. The data were collected based on opinions of the ten factors of market orientation practices by using the five-point Likert scale. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. On an average, 86.6% of the respondents agreed that they focus on these factors of market orientation. The federal owned GLCs place more emphasis on market orientation than the state owned GLCs. This study suggests improving the practices of market orientation of GLCs in Malaysia by emphasizing on providing close attention to after-sales service, responding rapidly to the threats of competitive actions, regularly discussing the competitors’ strengths and strategies by top management, and freely communicating successful and unsuccessful customer ex...
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Malaysia has seen a high rate of economic growth in past couple of decades hand in hand with an ever increasing size of population. As a consequence, the issue of sustainable waste management has become an important priority for... more
Malaysia has seen a high rate of economic growth in past couple of decades hand in hand with an ever increasing size of population. As a consequence, the issue of sustainable waste management has become an important priority for policymakers and other stakeholders of the society. Although there are potentials to recycle up to 80 per cent of the total dry wastes collected, currently most of them are deposited into various landfill sites. Waste treatment facilities are also insufficient in the country. The government has introduced SWM Act 2007 along with other initiatives to improve the waste management scenario, but more needs to be done to be able to recycle and treat a major portion of the wastes. Based on studies on the state of Selangor in Malaysia, this paper this paper attempts to analyse the waste management scenario of Malaysia and the problems and prospects of waste recycling there. The paper will help the policy makers, waste management strategists, local administrators an...
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Bangladesh is one of the largest and richest floodplain lands in the world. There are 3 million hectares of medium and deep flooded areas. In the dry season these land are used for rice production, but these lands remain unutilized or... more
Bangladesh is one of the largest and richest floodplain lands in the world. There are 3 million hectares of medium and deep flooded areas. In the dry season these land are used for rice production, but these lands remain unutilized or underutilized for a long period because of flooding. Recently, rice and fish culture is practiced in dry and flooding season under community based fisheries management (CBFM) in Kalmina Beel, Fulbaria, Mymensingh and Angrar Beel, Pirganj, Rangpur areas as case studies. Assessment of the challenges and problems of these beels will help to implement it in other floodplain areas of Bangladesh that will help utilize land and waterbodies with a good source of food, employment and better income source for poor people. To understand the challenges of implementation of CBFM, this study was conducted on Beel Mail at Rajshahi in Bangladesh as a case study. This study conducted focus group discussion among the CBFM stakeholders. It was revealed that lack of skill...
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ABSTRACT Objective: This objective of this study is to measure the productivity of water on the floodplain land in terms of fisheries and living aquatic resources based on two floodplain beels in Bangladesh. Methods: Among two beels, beel... more
ABSTRACT Objective: This objective of this study is to measure the productivity of water on the floodplain land in terms of fisheries and living aquatic resources based on two floodplain beels in Bangladesh. Methods: Among two beels, beel Mail is practicing community based fish culture management, and beel Chandpur is open access and improperly managed. The production and market price data of fish, snail, and aquatic plants were collected by direct observation based on 30 samples fishers in the year 2006-07. This study also collected production related water quality data, such as water temperature, pH and Dissolved Oxygen. Results: The water quality data are found within the normal range. Net aggregated water productivity values based on production costs was TK 8016.23 ha-1 and TK 3912.9 ha-1 and based on all cost TK 7160.97 ha-1 and TK 3741.13 ha-1 at beel Mail and beel Chandpur, respectively. The contribution of fish, snails and aquatic resources were 96.50%, 3.10%, and 0.40% of the gross aggregated water produced in beel Mail and 87.85%, 8.38%, and 3.77% in the beel Chandpur. The water productivity values in beel Mail is higher than the beel Chandpur due to the intervention of community based fish culture. Conclusion: The proper management and techniques of harvesting fish through appropriate number of fish fingerlings stocked, good quality of fish fingerlings, size of beel, good fencing and well defined embankment, etc. can help to improve the productivity of water in the beel areas.
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Research Interests: Human Geography, Economics, Climate Change, Poverty, Climatic Changes, and 15 moreMalaysia, Agriculture, Impacts Of Climatic Change On Agriculture, Economic Inequality, Climate Change Impacts, Lorenz Curves, Descriptive Statistics, Inequality, Climatic Change, Paddy, Environment and sustainable development, Gini Coefficient, Lorenz Curve, Income Equality, and Kuznets ratio
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PurposeThis study aims to measure the relationship between the current practice status of good governance and that of integrity in the public sector of Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected primary data based on a set... more
PurposeThis study aims to measure the relationship between the current practice status of good governance and that of integrity in the public sector of Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected primary data based on a set of questionnaire surveys among heads of 109 departments and agencies under 24 federal ministries, including the Prime Minister Department in Malaysia. The data were analyzed under descriptive statistics, ordinal regression and structural equation model. Furthermore, standard diagnostic tests were also conducted to check the reliability of the data and models.FindingsAmong the factors of good governance, practices of strategic planning, audit and fraud control have statistically significant positive relationship with the practices of integrity in the public sector of Malaysia. Moreover, the practices of strategic alliance and fraud control significantly contribute to determine the integrity practices in the public sector of Malaysia. Therefore, the pr...
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Malaysia is a fast growing developing country where majority of the people are Muslim. Due to the religious bindings, Muslim prefers Shariah compliant Islamic credits instead of conventional interest based credits. At the same time,... more
Malaysia is a fast growing developing country where majority of the people are Muslim. Due to the religious bindings, Muslim prefers Shariah compliant Islamic credits instead of conventional interest based credits. At the same time, non-Muslims can also consider Shariah compliant Islamic credit because it is considered as the ethical credit. However, still many microentrepreneurs are not receiving the Shariah compliant Islamic microfinance products because they have negative perceptions about the credit and interest (riba). Therefore, this study aims to assess the demand for microfinance among the microentrepreneurs in the State of Selangor, Malaysia and thus, determine the potential market size. Data of the study were collected based on a questionnaire survey from 550 microentrepreneurs from the urban areas of Selangor. It was found that only 12.2 per cent of them received microfinance from various microfinance institutions and banks. However, the study found that still there is po...
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Research Interests: Mechanical Engineering, Economics, Econometrics, Economic Growth, Energy Consumption, and 12 moreSocial Science Research Network, Energy studies, Granger causality, Cointegration, Sample Size, Empirical Study, Developing Economies, Energy Use, Error Correction Model, Autoregressive Distributed lag, consumption sociology, and cointegration test
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Research Interests: Business, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Sustainable agriculture, Agriculture, and 9 moreEnvironmental Planning, Food Security, Livelihood, Environmental Resource Management, Social Science Research Network, Disaster risk reduction, Earth Surface Processes and Climate Change, Sustainability, and Public Policy
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Research Interests: Geography, Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation, Malaysia, Agriculture, and 11 moreVulnerability, Multidisciplinary, Food Security, Malaysian Studies, Mitigation, Sustaianable Development, Paddy Field, Sustainability, Quantitative Methods In Research, River Basin Geomorphology, and Climate Hazards And Vulnerability Studies
Microcredit is regarded as a tool for poverty alleviation. A stereotyped delivery system is designed and used for promoting and serving survival- and subsistence-level economic activities, particularly for poor female clients. In... more
Microcredit is regarded as a tool for poverty alleviation. A stereotyped delivery system is designed and used for promoting and serving survival- and subsistence-level economic activities, particularly for poor female clients. In Bangladesh its success has raised social expectations as to its potential as also a promoter of microenterprises, which are growth-yielding small businesses beyond subsistence-level economic activity. The field survey shows that about 11.7% of the microcredit borrowers are this kind of potential or growing microentrepreneur. It also shows that microcredit?s standardised delivery system, particularly in respect of gender preference, loan size, loan disbursement, and repayment schedules, is a strong limiting factor in effectively serving the microenterprises, which require a more flexible credit package. Therefore a methodological modification is necessary to accommodate flexibility in the microcredit delivery system.