Suchergebnisse

World Economic Issues at the United Nations: Half a Century of Debate attempts an objective analysis of the discussions in the policy forums of the United Nations on the major issues in the world economy over the past half a century. The book opens with a brief survey of the world economy since the Second World War. The following chapter presents a bird's-eye view of the issues discussed as well as a perspective on each of the issues. Starting with the issues of growth and stability in industrial countries, the study goes on to present discussions on the evolving issues of development of less developed countries. The volume devotes a substantial chapter on the efforts at establishment of the new international economic order. The more mundane matters of food needs of developing countries and their pervasive poverty are not lost sight of. Discussions on other major issues of interest and concern to developing countries, such as those of primary commodities, and the crisis of external debt, as well as issues of international trade, occupy a substantial space in the study. Two short chapters dwell on debates relating to transnational corporations and the international monetary system, especially as they concerned developing countries. The book concludes with a substantial chapter on resources, environment and sustainable development, a subject of growing importance at the United Nations. A principal justification of the study is that these discussions and debates constituted a major body of thinking on the world economy that is worth surveying. A central aim is to follow the evolving ideas over time in each field, to describe not only what was debated but how, and in the process it throws light on the nature and limits of international economic cooperation. An all important question underlies an investigation of this nature. Many of those who were engaged in the half century of debate sought to change the world economy, some by only tinkering with it, others by radical reform. Has anything changed as a result? One would like to ponder, even though the answer may not be all that clear. The present study is offered as a modest contribution to any examination of the past achievements and future roles of the organization

AbstractCultural differences represent significant trade barriers between transitional economies and their trading partners, which has been overlooked in recent studies. This paper investigates the effect of cultural distance (CD) on bilateral trade from Bangladesh. We conceptualize a research model by employing the extended gravity model as a theoretical base, where we amplify the theory by proposing that linguistic distance (LD) as a part of cultural distance has a profound effect on bilateral trade based on bilateral trade data from 1995 to 2019 and Hofstede's culture indices between Bangladesh and 157 trading partner countries. Using a pseudo‐poisson maximum likelihood model, we find that cultural distance has a significant and negative impact on Bangladesh's trade, with a significance level of 1%. Our empirical results indicate that one unit increase in cultural distance decreases trade by 40.84% and cultural distance has a greater impact on Bangladesh's exports than on its imports. Findings also reveal that the effect is substantial with high‐income nations than with low‐income nations, and for manufacturing products than primary products trade. Further, this study suggests that in addition to cultural distance (CD), linguistic distance (LD) from trading partners has a tantamount effect on bilateral trade, which is significant at 1%. Theoretically, this study suggests that linguistic distance (LD) should be added on gravity model for analyzing effects of cultural distance on bilateral and multilateral trade. Practically, this study contributes by providing valuable insights to policymakers to pay attention to cultural differences, especially during these economic transition periods to increase bilateral trade.

This paper proposes an integrated, comprehensive financial model that can provide startup capital to socially committed business ventures, such as social enterprises and Yunus Social Business (YSB), by using Islamic social funds (ISFs), Zakat (almsgiving), Waqf (endowments), Sadaqat (charity), and Qard Hasan (interest-free benevolent loans). The literature review method was adopted to explain this model's architecture, applications, implications, and viability. On the basis of logical reasoning, it concludes that ISFs can yield greater social wellbeing if utilised in SEs and YSB than in unconditional charity because both business models work for social betterment in entrepreneurial ways while remaining operationally self-reliant and economically sustainable. Additionally, ISFs can complement Yunus Social Business's zero-return investment approach to make it more robust towards social contributions. The implementation of the model orchestrated in this paper would enhance societal business practices and, hence, scale up social wellbeing while helping rejuvenate pandemic-stricken economies. It paves the way for new research too.

AbstractThis study focuses on identification, categorization and comparison of regulatory barriers to internationalization for the small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) from an emerging market context. Primary data were collected to develop and validate a structural model to assess the salient regulatory barriers of internationalization with a particular attention to the SMEs in Bangladesh. Structured questionnaire has been used to collect data from 212 SMEs operating in Bangladesh. The results indicate that both administrative and economic regulatory barriers are significant for the internationalization of SMEs whereby administrative regulatory barriers are slightly more substantial. This study provides further discussion from both theoretical and methodological aspects. By developing and validating structural model, this study contributes to the literature on small business and regulation with particular attention to the emerging markets.

PurposeUsing the integrated behavioural model (IBM) as a theoretical framework, this study aims to identify the determinants of saving behaviour among Malaysia's income-earning Generation Y (Gen Y) born in the years 1980–1995.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted using a questionnaire survey targeting Gen Y respondents 500 sets of responses were obtained via convenience sampling method.FindingsAnalysis conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) revealed that there were positive relationships among instrumental attitude, injunctive norm, perceived control, self-efficacy and intention to save. Secondly, intention to save, financial literacy and time preference were found to positively influence saving behaviour.Practical implicationsPolicymakers may find this study useful as the results reveal saving behaviour determinants of Gen Ys in Malaysia, and policies could then be formulated to improve Gen Y's saving behaviour.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by applying the IBM to a study on saving behaviour.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0340

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of corporate governance (CG) reform on the window dressing of compliance in the context of an emerging economy, Bangladesh. In particular, this study investigates the true level of compliance concerning the three internal governance mechanisms, such as board independence, CEO duality and formation of audit committee before and after the reform enacts. By using content analysis of 194 non‐financial listed companies between 2007 and 2017, this study observes the extent of overstatements in compliance statements along with the nature of firms that are involved in it. After the regulatory shift in 2012, requiring more independent directors into the board and external certification of compliance statements, it was found that the extent of window dressing in compliance statements declined considerably over time. Moreover, government firms are found to make more proportionate overstatements compared to family and others (non‐family and foreign companies). counterparts. The fall in window dressing indicates that the companies' fabricating efforts in CG compliance are challenged by the regulatory change in a formal legal environment.

The paper examines how some factors embedded in the cultural and institutional framework in Sub-Saharan African organisations interact with global perspectives and the degree of resistance they present to changes in human resource management (HRM) processes. The paper considers aspects of the universalistic perspectives that have resonance for human resource practices in Africa. Furthermore, it evaluates the question of the tensions between the contributions derived from indigenous and historical factors, and the inputs from external sources, to human resource management in Africa. The research is based on a survey among 100 practicing African HRM professionals drawn from the major institutional actors in Nigeria. The research found that, despite the impact of globalisation and the Westernisaion of training and development in Africa, HRM practices remain largely culture-bound. Many aspects of Sub-Saharan African cultures pervade organisational processes, e.g. collectivism and paternalism, that 'refuse' to make way for change. However, the paper concludes that some of these temerarious cultural aspects - often described as counter-productive in much of the literature - could be utilised for community and employee engagement. The paper makes a significant contribution to the literature on HRM practices in Africa, an area under-researched. It provides an opportunity for African HR managers to be more pragmatic in identifying the contextual issues and begin to identify aspects of African culture that could be value-adding in a fast-changing management landscape. The paper demonstrates that HRM policies have specific cultural orientations and reflect the societal predispositions of the region; this exemplifies how cultural paradigms, the political sphere and organisational life are intertwined in an African context.