Institutions and Economies

The Threshold Level of Economic Growth in BRI and Non-BRI Developing Countries for Better Environmental Quality

Yee-Qin Kon — 2023-01-01

This study investigates the nexus between economic growth and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Specifically, this study employs a dynamic panel threshold model to identify and compare the threshold levels of economic growth between developing countries participating and not participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The findings signify a nonlinear relationship between the sampled countries’ economic growth and their CO2 emissions in both categories. Furthermore, the result of dynamic panel threshold model reveals that the threshold level of economic growth, in the category of BRI developing countries, was lower (US$ 887.49) as compared to non-BRI developing countries (US$ 1358.57). This implies that the impact of economic growth in developing countries participating in the BRI was less harmful to the environment, and that these countries are more alert to environmental issues once the threshold of their gross domestic product per capita was achieved. Hence, Chinese authorities should put in more effort in facilitating sustainable infrastructure development to attract more developing countries to join the BRI to mitigate environmental degradation.

Will Local Financial Development Affect the Competitive Advantage of Chinese Enterprises' Exports?

Luis Alfredo Ávila-López — 2023-01-01

Many studies confirm the impact of financial development on the macro economy, but systematic studies of the impact of financial development on corporate exports is still lacking. Based on the quasi-natural experiment established by city commercial banks, this paper uses micro-data of Chinese industrial enterprises from 1998 to 2013 and adopts a double difference method to test the impact of the development of local financial institutions on corporate exports. The results show that the establishment of city commercial banks has significantly increased the export participation rate and total export volume of manufacturing enterprises in the city where they are located; comparatively speaking, its impact on the export expansion margin of industrial enterprises exceeds the intensive margin. At the same time, the study also found that the above-mentioned influences exist in both long-term and short-term, and in enterprises of different sizes and attributes. These findings provide new evidence for understanding the relationship between local financial development and corporate exports.

Firm Ownership and Technical Efficiency: Production Frontier Analysis of Malaysian Manufacturing

Sharmila Suntherasegarun — 2023-01-01

Using a new micro-based dataset of 8,472 firms covering 19 industries, this paper employs a stochastic production frontier analysis to compare time-varying technical efficiencies of foreign firms vis-à-vis local firms for the 2014 to 2019 period. The empirical findings indicate that on average, foreign firms are only marginally more (technically) efficient than local firms even after controlling for other firm characteristics. The productivity levels between foreign firms and local firms are also somewhat comparable for ‘catalytic’ industries, electrical and electronics, machinery, and chemicals. Together these results confirm that the high productivity gaps between the foreign firms and local firms in the Malaysian manufacturing sector seem to be a thing of the past.

Exploring Women's Retirement Literature through Bibliometric Analysis Using VOSviewer

Mohamad N.E.A — 2023-01-01

This paper aims to analyse the issue of women’s retirement (WR) literature through bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer, a programme for the visualisation of similarities (VOS). Publications focusing on women’s retirement were compiled from the Scopus database, with a total of 393 items spanning the years 1965 to 2021. The most prolific nations for retirement literature are the United States, United Kingdom, and Sweden, which reflects the affiliation analysis that correlates highly with published papers within specific institutions in those three countries. The issues were discussed within the context of social sciences, economics, econometrics, and finance, as well as psychology. This suggests an interlinking of women’s retirement with social and financial issues that might contribute towards psychological challenges for women. The most cited keywords, among others, are ‘retirement’, ‘women’ and ‘pension’, with thematic clusters being linked to ‘ageing’ and ‘health’. These could be linked to health problems that emerge because of ageing, and thus might be linked to the retirement wellbeing of women. The findings of this paper shed light on several implications that can be used as a guideline for researchers and act as a foundation before embarking on the emerging knowledge areas of women’s retirement.

Market Structure, Conduct, and Performance of Star Hotels in North Sumatra, Indonesia

Tongam Sihol Nababan — 2023-01-01

This study aims to analyse the market structure, conduct, and performance of the star hotel industry in North Sumatra. The study was conducted in 2019 with time series data for the period of 2013 to 2018. The market structure is measured using the methods of concentration ratio, Herfindahl-Hirschman index, and barriers to entry, while descriptive methods are used to analyse the conduct and performance of five-star hotels. The results of the study show that: (i) there is a concentration of three- and four-star hotels, and that the concentration of four- and five-star hotels have an oligopolistic structure; (ii) the market structure of star hotels tends to be monopolistic; (iii) the minimum efficient scale index of star hotels is relatively small, which means that new hotels have a good opportunity to get a larger market share; (iv) the level of service and the level of availability of star hotel facilities are classified as good; and (v) the star hotel market structure influences hotel business behaviour in North Sumatra, which in turn affects hotel business performance.

COVID-19 and the Structural Crises of Our Time

Rajah Rasiah — 2023-01-01

Ethnic Dissent and Empowerment - Economic Migration between Vietnam and Malaysia

Evelyn S. Devadason — 2023-02-24