Che Hashim Hassan

Causal nexus between energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission for Malaysia using maximum entropy bootstrap approach.

This study investigates the relationship between energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission in the causal framework, as the direction of causality remains has a significant policy implication for developed and developing countries. The study employed maximum entropy bootstrap (Meboot) approach to examine the causal nexus between energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission using bivariate as well as multivariate framework for Malaysia, over a period of 1975–2013. This is a unified approach without requiring the use of conventional techniques based on asymptotical theory such as testing for possible unit root and cointegration. In addition, it can be applied in the presence of non-stationary of any type including structural breaks without any type of data transformation to achieve stationary. Thus, it provides more reliable and robust inferences which are insensitive to time span as well as lag length used. The empirical results show that there is a unidirectional causality running from energy consumption to carbon emission both in the bivariate model and multivariate framework, while controlling for broad money supply and population density. The results indicate that Malaysia is an energy-dependent country and hence energy is stimulus to carbon emissions.

Child marriage in Bangladesh: trends and determinants.

This study examines the trends and determinants of child marriage among women aged 20-49 in Bangladesh. Data were extracted from the last six nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys conducted during 1993-2011. Simple cross-tabulation and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were adopted. According to the survey conducted in 2011, more than 75% of marriages can be categorized as child marriages. This is a decline of 10 percentage points in the prevalence of child marriage compared with the survey conducted in 1993-1994. Despite some improvements in education and other socioeconomic indicators, Bangladeshi society still faces the relentless practice of early marriage. The mean age at first marriage has increased by only 1.4 years over the last one and half decades, from 14.3 years in 1993-1994 to 15.7 years in 2011. Although the situation on risk of child marriage has improved over time, the pace is sluggish. Both the year-of-birth and year-of-marriage cohorts of women suggest that the likelihood of marrying as a child has decreased significantly in recent years. The risk of child marriage was significantly higher when husbands had no formal education or little education, and when the wives were unemployed or unskilled workers. Muslim women living in rural areas have a greater risk of child marriage. Womens education level was the single most significant negative determinant of child marriage. Thus, the variables identified as important determinants of child marriage are: education of women and their husbands, and womens occupation, place of residence and religion. Programmes to help and motivate girls to stay in school will not only reduce early marriage but will also support overall societal development. The rigid enforcement of the legal minimum age at first marriage could be critical in decreasing child marriage.

Child Marriage and Its Association With Adverse Reproductive Outcomes for Women in Bangladesh

This study examines the prevalence of child marriage and its effect on reproductive outcomes among women in Bangladesh using the most recent 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. Both bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques used in the study yielded quantitatively important and reliable estimates of child marriage and its impact on adverse reproductive and health outcomes. Overall, 77% of the marriages among women aged 20 to 49 years old took place before the age of 18 years. Women’s education is the most single significant determinant of child marriage. Findings revealed that after being adjusted for sociodemographic factors, child marriage significantly (P < .001) increases the likelihood of stillbirth/miscarriage (odds ratio [OR] = 1.80; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.45-2.24) and pregnancy termination (OR = 1.24; 95% CI = 1.12-1.38). Programs should aim to retain girls in school for longer periods not only to raise the age at first marriage but also for sound reproductive health and overall social development of Bangladesh.

Factors associated with the timing of antenatal care seeking in Bangladesh.

This study investigates the factors affecting the timing of antenatal care (ANC) seeking among Bangladeshi women using the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. Overall, 52% of the most recently pregnant women sought skilled ANC. The most pronounced reason for not receiving the services was that it was “not needed.” Of the women who sought ANC, 57% entered for ANC at the fourth month or later. The multivariate regression analysis revealed that maternal age, women’s education, residence, wealth index, pregnancy intention status, child’s birth order, and wanting more children were the important determinants of ANC services utilization. Wanting more children and contraception use were no longer independent contributors to late ANC entry. These barriers should also be addressed as part of health interventions through information education and communication programs to early entry to ANC. The need to reduce financial barriers to care is a major implication of this study.

Determinants of Institutional Delivery Among Women in Bangladesh

This study examines the factors that influence institutional delivery among women in Bangladesh extracting data from 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. We employed both bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses in this study. Findings revealed that, only 14.7% of the women went for institutional delivery and 28.8% births were delivered by trained birth attendance. The multivariate logistic regression analysis yielded quantitatively important and reliable estimates of facility delivery. The likelihood of institutional delivery was significantly higher for first-order pregnancy, couples’ higher education, the richest, higher autonomy, TV ownership, non-Muslims, who received antenatal care services, pregnancy complications, and urban residents. Government should ensure quality of care, easy accessibility, and availability of all facilities free of cost in the public medical institutions. Women should be informed regarding the long-term benefit of institutional delivery through information, education, and communication program.

Inequality of the use of skilled birth assistance among rural women in Bangladesh: facts and factors.

This study examines the inequality of the use of skilled delivery assistance by the rural women of Bangladesh using the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. Simple cross-tabulation and univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were employed in the study. Overall, 56.1% of the women received at least one antenatal care visit, whereas only 13.2% births were assisted by skilled personnel. Findings revealed apparent inequality in using skilled delivery assistance by socioeconomic strata. Birth order, women’s education, religion, wealth index, region and antenatal care are important determinants of seeking skilled assistance. To ensure safe motherhood initiative, government should pay special attention to reduce inequality in seeking skilled delivery assistance. A strong focus on community-based and regional interventions is important in order to increase the utilization of safe maternal health care services in rural Bangladesh.

Safer Sex Negotiation and Its Association With Condom Use Among Clients of Female Sex Workers in Bangladesh.

This study examines safer sex negotiation and its association with condom use among clients of female sex workers (FSWs) in Bangladesh. Data were collected from 484 FSWs living in Dhaka city following a convenient sampling procedure. Overall, 47% of the clients were suggested to use condom during last sexual intercourse and 21% did so. Both bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses yielded significantly increased risk of negotiation for safer sex with clients among FSWs with higher education. The power bargaining significantly (P < .001) increased the risk of condom use by 2.15 times (95% confidence interval = 1.28-3.59). The odds of condom use were significantly higher among the FSWs with higher education, unmarried, hotel-based, and among those with higher level of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge. The Bangladeshi FSWs have little control over their profession. HIV prevention programs should aim to encourage FSWs through information, education, and communication program to insist on condom use among clients.

Poverty in a Malay State in Malaysia: A Socio-Demographic Study

Leete (2007:147) stated that the poverty rate in Malaysia was 5.7%. The state of Sabah has the highest poverty rate at 23%, followed by Terengganu (15%), Kelantan (11%), Sarawak (8%), and Kedah (7%). In view of the scarcity of natural resources compared to Terengganu and Sabah which are receiving oil royalties from the Federal Government, Kelantan is potentially the poorest state, and will have the highest incidence of poverty in the near future.This study focuses on poverty level in the state of Kelantan. The main objectives of this study is to examine the relationship between poverty and various socio-demographic characteristics such as, educational attainment, age, number of children still living and family size of the respondents in one state which is potentially the poorest state in Malaysia. The findings if this study will provide the information on socio-demographic variables of poverty needed by policy makers to formulate a long term strategy, not only to minimize the number of poor people but to further reduce and eradicate hard core poverty in the state.The data pertinent to this study was collected through a questionnaire survey on poverty conducted in late 2009. Inferential statistics such as One-Way ANOVA was used to determine the relative impact of, and relationship between socio-demographic variables such as education, age, children still living (fertility) and family size of respondents and its relationship with poverty. It was found that family size has a very strong relationship with poverty among the respondents.Data collection for this study was funded by the Center for Poverty and Development Studies, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya.

Determinants of debt across sectors: Evidence from Chinese a-share listed firms

Almost all studies carried out so far in China regarding debt examinations do not recognize difference among business sectors. China completed the second split share structure reform of listed firms by the end of 2007, which converted 97% non-tradable shares into tradable shares. However, there has been no study conducted to analyze whether determinants of debt have changed since the reform. Therefore, this study aims to find determinants of debt of listed firms in China by analyzing data after the completion of reform across sectors. Data sample used in this study includes all A-share listed firms in China from 2008 to 2012. After deleting missing values, there are in total 547 firms with 2,735 observations, which are taken as the initial full data sample. The method employed by the study is a panel data model, because it has the advantage of taking both cross-section and time series into consideration. In addition, a Hausman test is employed to identify whether a model with fixed effects or random effects should be used for analysis. The main findings are: (1) Total debt is mainly dominated by short-term debt, while long-term debt is lowly financed. During 2008 - 2012, total debt as well as long-term debts increase, but short-term debt decreases; (2) Determinants have different effects on long-term and short-term debts; (3) The effects of determinants are different across different sectors, indicating that specific sectorial factors are at work; (4) The debt decision tends to follow the static trade-off theory with consideration for effects of non-debt tax shield and profits. In general, both long-term and short-term debts are affected positively by profits at different levels. Firm size is the most important determinant and is positively related to long-term debt, while non-debt tax shield contributes negatively to short-term debt. This paper presents an in-depth understanding of debt decision in listed firms in China using a joint model to test the interaction between employee productivity and debt. It, therefore, provides a new perspective on investigations of debt decisions of firms across sectors.