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Showing papers in "International Journal of Social Economics in 2016"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the causal relationship between insurance penetration and economic growth in eight selected African countries, including Algeria, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal relationship between insurance penetration and economic growth in eight selected African countries. Design/methodology/approach – The auto-regressive distributed lags bounds approach to cointegration is employed on annual time-series data from 1990 to 2010 to test the causal relationship between insurance and economic growth in Algeria, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. The ratio of life and non-life insurance premiums to gross domestic product are employed as proxies for insurance market development. Findings – The results of the bound test shows a long-run relationship between insurance market activities and economic growth for Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. Causality analysis within the vector error correction model indicates a uni-directional causality from insurance market development to economic growth except for Morocco where there is evidence of a bi-directional causality. Causa...

61 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a new way of explaining participation in the informal economy as resulting from the asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of a society's formal institutions (government morality) and the norms, values and beliefs of the population that constitute its informal institutions (societal morality).
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a new way of explaining participation in the informal economy as resulting from the asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of a society’s formal institutions (government morality) and the norms, values and beliefs of the population that constitute its informal institutions (societal morality). The proposition is that the greater the asymmetry between government morality and societal morality, the greater is the propensity to participate in the informal economy. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate this institutional asymmetry theory, the results are reported of 1,306 face-to-face interviews conducted during 2013 in the UK. Findings – The finding is a strong correlation between the degree of institutional asymmetry (measured by tax morale) and participation in the informal economy. The lower the tax morale, the greater is the propensity to participate in the informal economy. Using ordered logistic regression analysis, tax morale is not fo...

60 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the factors that influence an individual's intention to participate in the family takaful scheme based on decomposed theory of planned behaviour (DTPB).
Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence an individual’s intention to participate in the family takaful scheme based on decomposed theory of planned behaviour (DTPB). The central hypotheses for this study are that individual’s intentions to participate in family takaful scheme are a result of attitudes towards participation in family takaful scheme, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (PBC). Awareness and knowledge, as well as exposure and religiosity, are integrated into the model. Design/methodology/approach Using primary data collection method, 384 questionnaires were distributed to target respondents comprising of Muslims in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and SmartPLS. Findings The DTPB model is effective in predicting individual’s intention to participate in family takaful scheme. Out of 15 hypotheses, 12 were found to be significant. Attitudes towards participation in family takaful scheme, PBC, knowledge, and exposure have significant influences on purchase intention. However, this study found the path from religiosity, awareness, and subjective norm to intention was insignificant. Practical implications The results of this study highlight the applicability of DTPB into takaful research and suggest marketing strategies for family takaful operators. Originality/value The value of this paper lies in its presentation of a model for factors that affect individual’s intention to participate in family takaful scheme.

47 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors assesses the best governance tools in the fight against the scourges in Africa and concludes that corruption control is the most effective mechanism in fighting crimes (conflicts) and is significantly strong when controlling for age dependency, number of police (and security) officers, per capita economic prosperity, educational level and population density.
Abstract: Crimes and conflicts are seriously undermining African development. This article assesses the best governance tools in the fight against the scourges. The following findings are established. (1) Democracy, autocracy and voice & accountability have no significant negative correlations with crime. (2) The increasing relevance of government quality in the fight is as follows: regulation quality, government effectiveness, political stability, rule of law and corruption-control. (3) Corruption-control is the most effective mechanism in fighting crimes (conflicts). The findings are significantly strong when controlling for age dependency, number of police (and security) officers, per capita economic prosperity, educational level and population density. Justifications for the edge of corruption-control (as the most effective governance tool) and policy implications are discussed.

46 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify some well-set instruments in Islam that can efficiently alleviate poverty, solve social problems and reduce social inequality through a new operational framework called Islamic social business (ISB) and propose an efficient system of Islamic wealth sourcing and management to make the process of poverty alleviation sustainable.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify some well-set instruments in Islam that can efficiently alleviate poverty, solve social problems and reduce social inequality through a new operational framework called “Islamic social business (ISB)”. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual research that is based on Al-Quranic principles as well as contemporary social welfare philosophies, such as, augmented stakeholder theory, social enterprise and social business. Al-Quran, Al-Hadith and existing traditional and Islamic literature are consulted for this study. Findings – The study proposes an efficient system of Islamic wealth sourcing and management to make the process of poverty alleviation sustainable. Other social problems for disadvantaged people, such as, health-, shelter-, literacy- and environmental-related issues are also addressed in the proposed system. The study identifies the inefficiency in the current practices and makes some propositions that are in conformance with Islamic p...

45 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of public expenditure on economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries like India and showed that public expenditure can be used as instruments for removing poverty.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of public expenditure on economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries like India If poverty and inequality are high, the government may resort to distributive policies at the cost of long-term growth The distributive policies and poverty alleviation measures fail to achieve success due to lack of good governance, lack of proper targeting and problems in the implementation of such schemes On the other hand, if the nature of public expenditure is such that it enhances per capita income, it will help reduce poverty Design/methodology/approach – After analytical digression and construction of hypotheses panel regression has been done using state-level data in the Indian context to empirically verify the above propositions Both Fixed effects and Random effects models have been used for this purpose Findings – The results show that in states where ratio of public expenditure on the development of infrastructure such as road, irrigation, power, transport and communication is higher, per capita income is also higher and incidence of poverty is lower indicating that economic growth is important for poverty alleviation and development of infrastructure is necessary for growth Originality/value – This study demonstrates how public policy and public finance can be used as instruments for removal of poverty

41 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of micro-finance on women-owned microenterprises' performance in Indonesia is examined, and the authors find a negative relationship between performance and financial capital and positive relationships between performance-human capital and performance-social capital.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of microfinance on women-owned microenterprises’ (WMEs) performance in Indonesia. It especially observes how financial, human and social capital influences performance of enterprises.,Data were collected from a survey conducted in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city, covering more than 100 WMEs. The ordered probit technique is applied to estimate the performance vis-a-vis financial, social and human capital relationships.,This study finds a negative relationship between performance and financial capital, and positive relationships between performance-human capital and performance-social capital. However, with respect to human capital, the level of education has a marginally significant relationship with performance.,Microcredit for the purposes of enhancing business performance might not necessarily be a good idea, if it is unable to generate higher returns. As a business develops, the volume of microcredit should be reduced, and replaced by owners’ own savings and retained profits. Regarding the non-financial factors, it might be useful for policy makers to contemplate providing incentives for spouse involvement in microenterprises run by women, and to consider them in designing credit policies. Group meetings activities should be extended to facilitate members to engage in business-related conversations and to develop social relationships. The ability of loan officers and group leaders to facilitate such conversations appears important.,To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides the first in-depth understanding of the role of microfinance programmes in the case of performance of WMEs in Indonesia, one of the world’s most populous economies.

39 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the differences in the levels of overall and by dimensions of human capital (HC) by industry and firm size, and found that the level of HC was higher in textiles, food, metal and leather industries, and for medium-sized firms.
Abstract: Purpose – Pakistan adopted “one-size-fits-all” policy for human capital (HC) development with the assumption that the level of HC is equal across industry and firm size. The purpose of this paper is to test this major assumption on which this policy is based, by comparing the differences in the levels of HC, overall and by dimensions of HC, by industry and firm size. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on new data set of a sample of 750 manufacturing SME firms in Pakistan, compiled through a survey. Applying the independent sample t-test, one way analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of variance, the hypotheses of differences in levels of overall and dimensions of HC were tested. Findings – The results indicate significant differences in the levels of HC by industry and firm size. The levels of HC were found to be higher in textiles, food, metal and leather industries, and for medium-sized firms. Practical implications – The findings provide supporting evidence on the inadequacy of t...

38 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used a probit regression model to identify the socioeconomic and demographic variables that are associated with the labour participation of the elderly in India, and found that the labour force participation rate of older persons in rural India remained almost stable between 1983 and 2011-2012, despite the rapid economic growth that India experienced during the same period.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the labour force participation of older persons (aged 60 and above) in India from 1983 to 2011-2012. The paper also briefly reviews the conditions of work for the elderly and examines different socio-economic and demographic factors that are associated with labour force participation of elderly in India. Design/methodology/approach – The author uses data from repeated cross-sectional rounds of Employment and Unemployment Surveys of National Sample Survey Office from 1983 to 2011-2012. The author uses probit regression model to identify the socio-economic and demographic variables that are associated with the labour participation of the elderly in India. Findings – The results show that labour force participation rate of older persons in rural India remained almost stable between 1983 and 2011-2012, despite the rapid economic growth that India experienced during the same period. Further, the results show that among the elderly, those who belong to relativel...

29 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results indicate that public health expenditure is inversely and significantly related to infant (IMRR) and under-five (U5MR) mortalities in SSA and that a percentage point increase in public health spending across the region will result in saving the lives of about 7,040 children every year.
Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of public and private health expenditures on selected maternal-child health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Design/methodology/approach The study utilizes panel data on 40 SSA countries spanning the period 2000-2010. The data are analyzed using the fixed effects estimation technique. Findings The results indicate that public health expenditure is inversely and significantly related to infant (IMRR) and under-five (U5MR) mortalities in SSA. Though public health expenditure has the a priori negative sign, it has no significant effect on maternal mortality (MMR) in SSA. Further, private health expenditure did not prove to be significant in improving maternal-child health outcomes (IMRR, U5MR and MMR) in SSA. Practical implications The implication of the findings is that a percentage point increase in public health expenditure (as a share of GDP) across the region will result in saving the lives of about 7,040 children every year. Hence, it is important for governments in SSA to increase their shares of health expenditure (public health expenditure) in order to achieve improved health outcomes. Originality/value Previous studies have not adequately explored the effect of various components of health expenditures – public and private – on health outcomes in the context of SSA. In addition to the focus on maternal-child health variables such as infant, under-five and maternal mortalities, the study accounts for the possibility of a non-linear and non-monotonic relationship between healthcare expenditures and health outcomes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of remittances on economic growth in MENA region is investigated and the authors explore the short-run and the long-run relationship between remittance and economic growth.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of remittances on economic growth in MENA region. More precisely this study tries first to explore the short-run and the long-run relationship between remittances and economic growth. Second, the authors address how the local financial development and institutional environment influence a country’s capacity to take advantage from remittances. Design/methodology/approach – The panel data unit-root test as well as the panel data co-integration is used for the purpose of the long-run remittances growth relationship and the IV technique with GMM option is adopted to study the short-run link. Findings – This paper provides empirical evidence that remittances have a positive effect on economic growth in the long run and a negative effect in short run. The short-run effect of remittances on economic growth is conditional. In fact, it depends in the levels of financial development and institutional quality, respectively. Practical implications – As practi...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between financial sector development and poverty reduction in India using annual data from 1970 to 2012 using Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound testing approach to examine the existence of long-run relationship; error-correction mechanism for the short-run dynamics and Granger non-causality test to test the direction of causality.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial sector development and poverty reduction in India using annual data from 1970 to 2012. The paper attempts to answer the critical question: does financial sector development lead to poverty reduction? Design/methodology/approach – Stationarity properties of the series are checked by using Ng-Perron unit root test. The paper uses the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound testing approach to co-integration to examine the existence of long-run relationship; error-correction mechanism for the short-run dynamics and Granger non-causality test to test the direction of causality. Findings – The co-integration test confirms a long-run relationship between financial development and poverty reduction for India. The ARDL test results suggest that financial development and economic growth reduces poverty in both long run and short run. The causality test confirms that there is a positive and unidirectional causality running fro...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify factors affecting formal credit constraint status of rural farm households in Vietnam's North Central Coast (NCC) region using the direct elicitation method (DEM).
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify factors affecting formal credit constraint status of rural farm households in Vietnam’s North Central Coast (NCC) region. Design/methodology/approach – Using the direct elicitation method (DEM), the authors consider both internal and external credit rationing. Findings – Empirical evidences confirm the importance of household head’s age, gender and education to household’s likelihood of being credit constrained. In addition, households who have advantages in farm land size, labour resources and non-farm income are less likely to be credit constrained. Poor households are observed to remain restricted by formal credit institutions. Results from the endogenous switching regression model suggest that credit constraints negatively impact household’s consumption per capita and informal credit can act as a substitute to mitigate the negative influence of formal credit constraints. Research limitations/implications – One limitation arises from the usage of the D...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate determinants of risk-taking in Islamic banks and conventional banks located in the MENA region, and the results of the empirical analysis show that the determinants differ between Islamic and conventional bank.
Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate determinants of risk-taking in Islamic banks and conventional banks located in the MENA region. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study covers a sample of 15 conventional and 15 Islamic banks for the period 2002-2009. The authors estimate models using both generalized least square random effect and generalized method of moments system approaches. Findings The results of the empirical analysis show that the determinants’ risk-taking significance varies between Islamic and conventional banks. Originality/value The main aim is to develop a comprehensive model that integrates macroeconomic determinants, industry-specific determinants, and bank-specific determinants. This paper performs a comparison of the risk-taking between two different banking systems in the MENA region.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined institutional frames for financial inclusion of poor households in a Sub-Saharan Africa context and provided policy implications in solving the persistent problem of limited inclusion into mainstream formal financial services in Uganda.
Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine institutional frames for financial inclusion of poor households in a Sub-Saharan Africa context and provide policy implications in solving the persistent problem of limited inclusion of poor households into mainstream formal financial services in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional research design was used in this study. Data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 200 poor households located in Mukono District. Statistical program for Social Scientists and Analysis of Moment Structures were used to generate results. Findings Results have revealed the presence of regulative, normative, and procedural and declarative cognitive institutional frames, which affect financial inclusion of poor households in rural rural Uganda. The findings and policy implications are discussed in detail in the paper. Originality/value This study parallels the World Bank Global Findex survey (2012) on general aspects of financial inclusion around the world. It examines frames, which structure behaviours and actions of poor households towards their financial decisions and choices in attempting to improve financial inclusion with a major focus on rural Uganda.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a logistic regression model is used to identify the main determinants of the probability that a consumer will live beyond his/her means, by using a set of socioeconomic factors and the individual's financial behaviour and attitudinal characteristics as explanatory variables.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to identify the determinants of the probability of living beyond one’s means. The paper also explores the coping mechanisms of those financially distressed as well as the debt taking behaviour of consumers. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data obtained from the OECD International Network on Financial Education pilot study on Measuring Financial Literacy in 2010 for the case of Malaysia. A logistic regression model is used to identify the main determinants of the probability that a consumer will live beyond his/her means. The analysis is carried out by using a set of socio-economic factors and the individual’s financial behaviour and attitudinal characteristics as explanatory variables. Findings – The findings indicate that low income and seasonal income earners are more vulnerable to financial distress. Furthermore, having a higher education, higher financial knowledge and prudent financial behaviour and attitude do not necessarily translate into better f...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors established what constitutes best practice models of micro-finance for poverty alleviation, and argued that the new microfinance phenomenon characterized by two camps; commercial and developmental players should be recognized as legitimate separate micro finance approaches with different aims and motives.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish what constitutes best practice models of microfinance for poverty alleviation. It argues that the new microfinance phenomenon characterized by two camps; commercial and developmental players should be recognized as legitimate separate microfinance approaches with different aims and motives. This paper aims to establish strong foundational argument for developing parallel thinking and separate best practice models for effective engagement with each approach. Design/methodology/approach – Rapid evidence assessment methodology was used to systematically identify and analyze a comprehensive list of relevant literature on best practice models of microfinance for poverty alleviation from both online and offline publications. Over 40 publications on microfinance best practice were critically reviewed with a specific attention to how the two approaches to microfinance (commercial and developmental) were dealt with in relation to impact on poverty and best practi...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated how socioeconomic status and demographic factors were associated with child malnutrition as well as how these factors accounted for socioeconomic inequality of child malnutrition in Bangladesh during 2007-2011.
Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how socioeconomic status and demographic factors were associated with child malnutrition as well as how these factors accounted for socioeconomic inequality of child malnutrition in Bangladesh during 2007-2011. Design/methodology/approach Data of this study come from two cross-sectional rounds (2007 and 2011) of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. This paper uses ordinary least square models to estimate the correlates of child malnutrition. The study further uses the concentration curve and the concentration index to estimate socioeconomic inequality of child malnutrition in Bangladesh. Finally, the decomposition method is used to explain socioeconomic inequality of child malnutrition in the study period. Findings Regression analysis indicates that child’s age, breast feeding, child’s birth order, the number of under-five child in the household, household wealth and parental education were strongly correlated with child malnutrition in Bangladesh. This study finds that absolute level of child malnourishment slightly decreased between 2007 and 2011, but socioeconomic inequality increased during this period. Children from the poorest household endured the burden of malnourishment more than those from the wealthiest households. The level of inequality also increased among the rural children, although it remained stagnant among the urban children. Decomposition analysis highlights that parental education had a significant negative relation with the average level of malnutrition, but its role was primarily centred among children from wealthier households. Practical implications An approach linking the ministry of health and education with other ministries may speed up the reduction of inequalities in social determinants of childhood undernourishment. Most importantly, there is a need for comprehensive government policies to reduce growing economic inequality and increase the relative income of the poor in Bangladesh. Originality/value This study is the first of its kind to apply the decomposition method to explain the socioeconomic inequality of child malnutrition in Bangladesh. This paper presents an enriched understanding of socioeconomic inequality of child malnutrition in Bangladesh during 2007-2011.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used a Pendakur adaptation of the test of base independence, and income dependent Engel (1895) equivalence scales to examine the effects of household income on food consumption economies of scale and examine how far conventional poverty rates require adjustment when scale economies in food consumption are taken into consideration.
Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test whether household preferences satisfy the assumption of base-independence, to examine the effects of household income on equivalence scales and thereby food consumption economies of scale and to examine how far conventional poverty rates require adjustment when scale economies in food consumption are taken into consideration. Design/methodology/approach To achieve these aims, the authors use a Pendakur (1999) adaptation of the test of base-independence, and income dependent Engel (1895) equivalence scales. Findings In Sri Lanka, the hypothesis of base-independence is rejected: the equivalence scales increase with household income both at the national and the sectoral level, that is urban, rural and estate sectors. This suggests that low-income households enjoy greater scale economies. After adjusting for scale economies, urban, rural and estate poverty headcount ratios decline by 3.2, 8.8 and 13.7, respectively, while at the national level the decline is about 8.3. Research limitations/implications The results are based on the assumption that all of the adults in the households have identical tastes, irrespective of their gender and age. Furthermore, the survey data exclude three districts in the northern province of Sri Lanka due to resettlement activities took place after the civil war. Practical implications Higher scale economies among the poor imply that poverty among low-income households is overstated when using traditional measures of poverty rates. Originality/value The novelty of this paper is that it provides insights on the effect of income on food consumption economies of scale and implications of this phenomenon on poverty estimates in the context of a developing country like Sri Lanka.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between financial development and rural-urban income inequality (INQ) in SAARC countries using panel data from 1986-2012, and the results of Pedroni co-integration test indicate that there exists a long-run relationship among the variables.
Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial development and rural-urban income inequality (INQ) in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries using panel data from 1986-2012. Design/methodology/approach The stationarity properties are checked by the LLC and IPS panel unit root tests. The paper applied the Pedroni’s panel co-integration test to examine the existence of the long-run relationship and coefficients of co-integration are examined by fully modified ordinary least squares. The short-term and long-run causality is examined by panel Granger causality. Findings The results of Pedroni co-integration test indicate that there exists a long-run relationship among the variables. The findings suggest that financial development increases rural-urban inequality whereas trade openness reduces rural-urban inequality. The empirical results of panel Granger causality indicate evidence of short-run causality confirms that economic growth and financial development causes rural-urban INQ. Research limitations/implications The present study recommends for appropriate economic and financial reforms focusing on financial inclusion to reduce rural-urban INQ in SAARC countries. Financial policies geared toward agriculture and rural population should be adopted to reduce the prevailing rural-urban INQ in SAARC region. Originality/value Till date, there is hardly any study exploring the causal relationship between financial development and rural-urban INQ for SAARC countries by using panel co-integration and causality techniques. So the contribution of the paper is to fill these research gaps in the literature.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the financial aspects of high vs low-ranked firms in the Corporate Responsibility Index in Egypt, and constructed a Z-score model to discriminate between high and low ranked firms.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the financial aspects of high vs low-ranked firms in the Corporate Responsibility Index in Egypt, and to construct a Z-score model to discriminate between high- and low-ranked firms in the Corporate Responsibility Index. Design/methodology/approach – This study empirically examines a comprehensive list of financial ratios for 24 firms listed in EGX30 for four fiscal years, 2007-2010. The authors calculate 90 financial ratios to provide better insights and evaluation of the firms’ financial performance. The ordinary least square regression method and discriminant analysis are utilized to explain differences between the low- and high-ranked firms regarding their corporate social governance index. Findings – The results show that corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are positively related to the firms’ financial performance in terms of sales turnover and customer loyalty. This suggests that in the long run, the market mechanism shoul...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the determinants of state fragility in sub-Saharan Africa using hitherto unexplored variables in the literature, and they find that political interference, rent seeking and lobbying increase the probability of state instability by mitigating the effectiveness of governance capacity.
Abstract: This paper assesses the determinants of state fragility in sub-Saharan Africa using hitherto unexplored variables in the literature. The previously missing dimension of nation building is integrated and the hypothesis of state fragility being a function of rent seeking and/or lobbying by de facto power holders is tested. The resulting interesting finding is that, political interference, rent seeking and lobbying increase the probability of state fragility by mitigating the effectiveness of governance capacity. This relationship (after controlling for a range of economic, institutional and demographic factors) is consistent with a plethora of models and specifications. The validity of the hypothesis is confirmed in a scenario of extreme state fragility. Moreover, the interaction between political interferences and revolutions mitigate the probability of state fragility while the interaction between natural resources and political interferences breeds the probability of extreme state fragility. As a policy implication, there is a ‘sub-Saharan African specificity’ in ‘nation building’ and prevention of conflicts. Blanket fragility oriented policies will be misplaced unless they are contingent on the degree of fragility, since ‘fragile’ and ‘extreme fragile’ countries respond differently to economic, institutional and demographic characteristics of state fragility.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the contribution of financial development to poverty reduction in 11 South Asian developing countries using panel data set over the time period 1990-2012 and applied the Pedroni's panel cointegration test to examine the existence of long-run relationship.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution of financial development to poverty reduction in 11 South Asian developing countries using panel data set over the time period 1990-2012. Design/methodology/approach – The stationarity properties are checked by using Levin-Lin-Chu and Im-Pesaran-Shin panel unit root tests. The paper applied the Pedroni’s panel co-integration test to examine the existence of long-run relationship. The coefficients of co-integration are examined by fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and the causal link is checked by panel causality test. Findings – The empirical results of Pedroni co-integration test confirm a long-run relationship between financial development and poverty reduction in South Asian developing economies. The findings of FMOLS method confirm a strong and positive relationship between financial development, trade openness, inflation and poverty reduction. Results of panel causality test indicate that there is a unidirectional causality running from fina...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the factors that can be used to improve the intensity of fertiliser use in rural Sub-Saharan African countries, taking Tofa, a local government area in Kano State, Nigeria, as the case study.
Abstract: Purpose It is generally agreed that shortage of food, which is one of the main problems bedevilling Sub-Saharan African region, can be eliminated via the adoption of modern agricultural production technology, one of which is chemical fertiliser. The purpose of this paper is to assess the factors that can be used to improve the intensity of fertiliser use in rural Sub-Saharan African countries, taking Tofa, a local government area in Kano State, Nigeria, as the case study. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a two-stage sampling technique. In the first stage, four districts were chosen using a simple random sampling technique from the list of the 15 districts in the local government area, namely, Tofa, Langel, Lambu and Doka. In the second stage, 25 farmer households were systematically selected from each of the selected communities. Moreover, Tobit Regression model was used to examine and analyse the influence of some socio-economic factors on fertiliser use intensity. Findings To improve the rate of fertiliser use intensity, farmers need to be exposed to skills and training on some off-farm jobs to raise the farmers’ income to enable them to afford more fertiliser. The study finds that income, contact with extension agent, age of the farmer and method of fertiliser application have positive significant impacts on the intensity of fertiliser use. On the other hand, price of fertiliser was found to have negative impact on the intensity of using fertiliser in the study area. Furthermore, based on the data obtained from the selected samples, the average rate of fertiliser application in Tofa local government area during the crop season of 2011/2012 was 25 kg per hectare. Originality/value Policies that will strengthen the farmers’ contact with extension agents throughout the farming periods should be adopted. Also, farmers need to be exposed with skills and training on some off farm jobs to raise the farmers’ income to enable them afford more fertiliser.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors employed the popular autoregressive distributed lagged modeling approach to estimate the long-run model of crime and governance in Malaysia and found that good governance lowers crime rates (total crime, violent and property crimes).
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to relate the quality of governance with crime in Malaysia. The study also identifies the best good governance tool to fight against crime in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses time-series data on crime rates and six measures of governance: voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption. In this study the authors employed the popular autoregressive distributed lagged modeling approach to estimate the long-run model of crime and governance. Findings – The authors test the hypothesis that good governance lowers crime rates (total crime, violent and property crimes). The results suggest a negative relationship between crime rates and good governance in Malaysia. This suggests that good governance reduces crime rates in Malaysia. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this study is the short time-series used in the analysis which is from 1996 to 2009. P...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the effect of religious involvement on subjective well-being (SWB), specifically taking into account the implication of selection effects explaining religious influence using the British Household Panel Survey data set.
Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of religious involvement on subjective well-being (SWB), specifically taking into account the implication of selection effects explaining religious influence using the British Household Panel Survey data set. Design/methodology/approach In order to measure the level of religious involvement, the authors construct different indices on the base of individual religious belonging, participation and beliefs applying a propensity score matching estimator. Findings The results show that religious active participation plays a relevant role among the different aspects of religiosity; moreover, having a strong religious identity such as, at the same time, belonging to any religion, attending religious services once a week or more and believing that religion makes a great difference in life, has a high causal impact on SWB. The authors’ findings are robust to different aspects of life satisfaction. Originality/value The authors offer an econometric account of the causal impact of different aspects of religiosity finding evidence that the causal effect of religious involvement on SWB is better captured than through typical regression methodologies focussing on the mean effects of the explanatory variables.

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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of religiosity on Canadian female labour supply, both at extensive and intensive margins, using data from the Canadian Ethnic Diversity Survey (CDSS).
Abstract: Purpose – The relationship between religiosity and female labour market attainment has been widely investigated for the USA; however, no comparable study has been undertaken for the Canadian context. The purpose of this paper is to redress this critical oversight of the literature by examining the impact of religiosity on Canadian female labour supply, both at extensive and intensive margins. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from the Canadian Ethnic Diversity Survey, the authors consider all the measurable dimensions of religiosity, for the pooled sample, as well as by religious group. A wide array of control variables is included in the regressions to insure the reliability of the estimates. Findings – The authors find that overall religiosity inversely relates to female labour supply in Canada. When the impact of religiosity is assessed on a by religion basis, it is revealed that Protestant females are penalized, by far the most. Practical implications – The result is comparable with the pattern...

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TL;DR: In this paper, a multidimensional approach is used to provide a well-being description across European regions, by considering the set of socioeconomic indicators provided by Eurostat for the EU 266 NUTS-2 regions, three main analyses have been performed for the year 2009: first, the ideal point technique has been used to identify: the best EU performances; the number and type of indicators that need to be improved in every European regions.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use multidimensional approach to provide a well-being description across European regions. Design/methodology/approach – By considering the set of socioeconomic indicators provided by Eurostat for the EU 266 NUTS-2 regions, three main analyses have been performed for the year 2009: first, the “ideal point” technique has been used to identify: the best EU performances; the number and type of indicators that needs to be improved in every European regions. Second, a map of well-being has been elaborated to provide a picture summarizing the regional values in comparison to the European average. Third, Gini coefficient has been calculated to identify the indicators performing the largest inequalities across EU. The method presented in this paper is suitable to be complemented with subjective ranking of values and preference, making the proposed methodology useful to investigate well-being in a national, regional or individual scale. Findings – By providing a multidimen...

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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the effects of network-based individual social capital on the access of rural households to services and found that social network ties are not homogeneous and that social capital with weaker ties in combination with socially distant ties can potentially improve households' access to rural services.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of network-based individual social capital on the access of rural households to services. Design/methodology/approach – In the context of development economics, an innovative data collection approach is used to determine network-based social capital. The approach originates from the field of sociology and entails a personal network survey. The authors define four social capital variables according to tie strength and social distance between the respondent and his/her network member. Findings – Social network ties are not homogeneous. The econometric results suggest that social capital with weaker ties in combination with socially distant ties can potentially improve households’ access to rural services. Research limitations/implications – The empirical survey focusses on a single province in Northern Vietnam. Thus, the main limitation of the micro-study is its regional focus. A more representative sample of the whole country would be desirable ...