Elsadig Musa Ahmed

ICT and Human Capital Role in Achieving Knowledge-Based Economy: Applications on Malaysia's Manufacturing

Using Information and communication technology (ICT) in the activities of Malaysias manufacturing sector contributes significantly to its productivity growth in general and total factor productivity (TFP) growth of the sector in particular. This study assumes that the use of ICT in the manufacturing sector is increasing from year to year in the form of a geometric progression due to the rapid innovations of ICT around the globe. Labour input was subdivided into skilled semi-skilled and unskilled, to measure the achievement of the knowledge-based economy (K-economy) through human capital involved in the sector. The results of this study show that the contribution of the ICT used in the sector was the highest one among the input terms. This means that achieving K-economy through ICT is faster than achieving it through the human capital and other traditional inputs. The impact of ICT on TFP contributions is significant and better than skilled labour as an indicator of knowledge workers (human capital) that showed a very low contribution of TFP. But the growth rate of TFP is lower compared with the growth rate of the ICT. As a result, the achievement of the K-economy is not in a geometric progression like that of the ICT development.

Green TFP Intensity Impact on Sustainable East Asian Productivity Growth

This study aims at assessing the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) per unit of worker (intensity) emissions growth on productivity growth on selected 5 countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, (ASEAN5), Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, plus 3 East Asian Countries (China, Japan and South Korea). The results show that there was difference in the contribution of labour productivity, capital deepening and CO2 intensity emissions whether CO2 intensity emissions was included or not in the model. There were, however differences in the growth rates of total factor productivity (TFP) intensity growth. Moreover, a significant decline in the growth rates of TFP intensity growth was observed during the entire period of the study and sub periods, when CO2 intensity emissions variable was internalised in the model. The CO2 intensity emissions had impacted the productivity growth through the declining contribution of green TFP intensity growth in comparison with conventionally calculated

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and human capital management trend in Malaysia's economic development

Testing for stationarity, cointegration and structural break for the ICT data are significant to determine Malaysias economic growth. This article finds that the ICT follows similar trend as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), capital and employment data. The cointegration test suggests that ICT follows a long-run equilibrium in relation to GDP, capital and employment variables. The test for parameter instability for ICT indicates 1986 as the breakpoint, which is indicative of the structural transformation in Malaysias economy. This is crucial finding as it provides more conclusive evidence on structural breakpoint in Malaysias economic data, as opposed to noneconometric method. Human capital is synonymous to knowledge accumulation, thus significant in the development of the ICT and long-run economic growth.

Income convergence dynamics in ASEAN and SAARC blocs

This paper examines whether convergence of real income exists among the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries for the period covering 1970–2009. Univariate Lagrange Multiplier (LM) unit root tests with structural break(s) are employed to check for the incidence of stochastic convergence, which is necessary for conditional convergence as proposed in the neoclassical model. We further examine the presence of β-convergence, which is considered as the sufficient requirement for conditional convergence. Test results suggest convergence among ASEAN members, with the absence of convergence in SAARC member countries.

Impact of the relationship between transformational and traditional leadership styles on Iran's automobile industry job satisfaction

Purpose – This study aims to look into the ways in which leadership styles including transformational and traditional (independent variable) affect employee job satisfaction (dependent variable), focusing on six production lines in the Iranian automobile industry.Design/methodology/approach – The study focused solely on the production line workers and used questionnaires to obtain the relevant data. Implementation of the questionnaires was done using the proportional stratified random sampling method, whereby questionnaires were distributed to the target population over the period June to August 2010. Of the 600 questionnaires distributed 540 were returned completed.Findings – The survey results showed the dominant leadership style practiced in the industry to be the transformational styles. The employees reported moderate satisfaction with their jobs. The findings revealed that different employee job satisfaction components were impacted in different ways depending on the leadership style.Originality/val...

Telecommunications investment and economic growth in ASEAN5: An assessment from UECM

This paper examines the impact of telecommunications investment on the economic growth of the ASEAN5 countries namely, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, over the period 1975–2007. The unrestricted error correction model (UECM) and bounds testing approach are employed where a positive and significant long-run relationship is identified in the cases of Malaysia and Singapore. This is not the case for the other ASEAN5 countries. Granger non-causality testing indicates that telecommunications investment causes ASEAN5 economic growth but not vice versa.

Identifying economically potential inbound markets for Malaysian tourism industry

The key objective of this study is to determine and analyze the impacts of inbound tourism on the Malaysian economy using an input-output analysis. With the view of accomplishing the key objective, this study also explores the economic potential of inbound markets for the Malaysian tourism industry. As central to any economic impact analysis, tourism multipliers are estimated from the inverse of Leontief’s input-output matrix. The empirical results reveal two interesting observations concerning inbound tourism impacts on Malaysian economy. These are, firstly, tourism sectors that produce larger multipliers do not generate larger total economic impact, and secondly, inbound markets with highest per capita do not yield highest economic impact. Therefore, this study concludes that an economic sector with lower multipliers should not be neglected and that the contribution of inbound tourism market generating lower per capita expenditure should not be ignored when preparing appropriate tourism marketing and public policies for developing economies.

The Impact of Biochemical Oxygen Demand Emissions on Malaysia's Manufacturing Productivity Growth

Abstract This study examines the impact of organic water pollutant biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) emissions on Malaysias manufacturing sector productivity growth and the factors that determine its growth. Exclusion of externalities such as BOD pollutant emissions created a deficiency in growth accounting models as those BOD pollutant emissions were internalized in order to calculate the green total factor productivity (TFP). The results show a slowdown in the contribution of TFP growth and a negative impact of BOD pollutant emissions produced by the sector on productivity growth in general and TFP growth in particular in comparison with other productivity indictors of the sector.

Factors influencing Sudanese microfinance intention to adopt mobile banking

Abstract Access to financial service has become a key phenomenon for economic development and poverty alleviation .Microfinance is one way of fighting poverty in Sudan, where most citizens are in need of it. However, despite the initial results showing a positive impact of microfinance on the livelihood of low-income people in Sudan, around 8 million of the Sudanese poor people are excluded from microfinance services. One potential remedy for the limited outreach of microfinance in Sudan may lie within enhancing the capacity of microfinance services providers (MFPs) in the utilization of modern technology. Recent innovation in providing financial services in a convenient and efficient way is the use of mobile banking (m-banking) technology in microfinance. M-banking promises to increase the efficiency and outreach of microfinance services in developing countries. This paper tries to examine the factors that influence the adoption of m-banking by microfinance sector in Sudan. In this respect, hypotheses were developed guided by Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Technology-organization-Environment (TOE) models. Primary data were collected from MFPs and microfinance customers in Sudan using questionnaires and interviews. The study contributes to knowledge in terms of methods used by extending aforementioned theories through adding new variables to both models by putting both models in one study to fill the gaps in past studies; via examination of the demand (customers) and supply (institutions) through modifying them to include new variables related to m-banking in microfinance.

Exploring consumer doubt towards local new products innovation and purchase intention

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a scale to find the relationship between consumer doubt, skepticism, familiarity, information seeking, value for money and aesthetic design with customers’ purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach – This study focussed on students of Malaysian university of multimedia in Melaka campus and used questionnaires to obtain the relevant data. Convenience random sampling method is used whereby 200 questionnaires were distributed among the target population and exactly 200 completed answers were collected. Findings – The survey results show that aesthetic design and information seeking of a product has a positive significant relationship with customers’ purchase intention. Respondents reported a consideration on these two factors and it is revealed that the scale used in this study is reliable and valid kind of measurement to assess customers’ purchase intention. Practical implications – To minimize the innovating failure among launched new innovative produ...