Research

Ahmad Fahme Mohd Ali · Naziatul Aziah Mohd Radzi · Ruzanifah Kosnin · Suchi Hassan · Siti Salina Saidin ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2021 ·JEL: B10, D15, D31, E21

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumption function among households in Kelantan Malaysia based on the Permanent Income Hypothesis (PIH). This study used secondary data obtained from annual reports, as well as from published and non-published data between 2000 and 2016. The ARDL bound testing approach to deal with cointegration was applied to estimate the long run correlation between the variables. Meanwhile, the error correction method (ECM) was used to determine any short run correlation. This study found a large disparity between the elasticity to consume from current income and the elasticity to consume from permanent income among households in Kelantan. Therefore, it can be concluded that in the case of Kelantan, the PIH is valid.

Mohd Aqmin Abdul Wahab · Hazrul Izuan Shahiri · Mustazar Mansur · Mohd Azlan Shah Zaidi ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2018

This paper looks at the causes of increasing cost of living by studying two (2) main factors; frstly, the slow growth in income as compared to infation, and secondly the unproportional increase in standard of living as compared to income. For the frst factor, a time series regression model was constructred using the data from Household Income Survey report (various years) to compare the fuctutation in income against the infation rate year-on-year. For the second factor, we studied the expenditure elasticity of income for the household. A log-log linear regression model was developed taking into consideration the three (3) main groups of goods that household buys: Food, Transportation and Housing. We have studied the elasticities across income strata (B40, M40, T20) and location (Rural vs Urban) to observe the changes in elasticity with respect to those variables. The result of this study points that income growth has indeed surpasses infation rate from year to year, however the standard of living is increasing at a comparatively fast rate, as evidenced by high expenditure elasticities for several types of goods for B40s and M40s. This suggests that the standard of living, or living styles are the dominant factor that contributes to the problems of increasing cost of living.

Siew-Pong Cheah · Lin-Sea Lau · Chee-Keong Choong ·International Journal of Economics and Management ·2021 ·JEL: D3, D63, G51

Most past studies have assumed a symmetric relationship between income distribution and household indebtedness. Therefore, linear or symmetric modelling would miss possible asymmetric relationships between income distribution and household debt, resulting in misleading conclusions and policy suggestions. Thus, this study has explored the potential asymmetries between household debt and income inequality within long-run and short-run relationships. This study discovered that the association between income inequality and household debt was asymmetric in the long and short run using the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model. The results showed that only decreases in income inequality had a significant and positive effect on household debt, while increases in income inequality did not have a significant effect. The findings emphasised the need for policies to reduce income inequality to lessen debt among Malaysian households.

Jia-Jun Gabriel Yau · Siow-Hooi Tan ·International Journal of Economics and Management ·2022 ·JEL: O33, O40

This study re-investigates the presence of the Kuznets curve in the context of Malaysia, by employing an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach. We seek to examine the non-linear impacts of economic growth on income inequality by investigating the existence of a second turning point to the relationship. Furthermore, we also assess the impacts of information and communication technology (ICT) (through internet, mobile, and broadband usage) on income inequality, besides the determinants of income inequality which have been extensively studied within the framework. This endeavour leveraged a time series analysis whereby the data was employed from the time period of 1970–2018. Our estimation results support the S-curve hypothesis that relates economic growth to inequality starting from the back portion of the inverted U-shaped curve. Our results confirm that ICT can actually be part of an active economic policy aiming to reduce existing income inequalities.

Rusli Latimaha · Zakaria Bahari · Nor Asmat Ismail ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2019

In this paper, the authors use dynamic panel data in order to assess the linkages between the cost of living, income inequality, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, population and unemployment rate with respect to the street crime rate in Malaysia. More specifcally, the investigation considers whether the following could be capable of generating any difference in the crime rate observed across many types of street crime. The F-test, Breusch-Pagan Lagrange Multiplier test and Hausman tests affrm the most preferred model to explain criminal behaviour is by using Fixed Effects Model almost for all types of street crime. The fndings of the estimated coeffcients reveal that the cost of living is negatively related to all street crime types and not signifcant as well as unemployment rate. There is a motivation towards street crime not to earn a living or jobless, but other motivating push factors that relate to the personalities of the offenders such as drug addiction. Moreover, income inequality is only signifcant in terms of total street crime and unarmed robbery gang estimation models as well as GDP per capita and population in snatch and theft estimation models. Interestingly, we extend the by changing the defnition of crime into percentage and the results show that the cost of living is signifcant with the correct sign and has a positive relationship with all types of street crime rates except for snatch and theft estimation models. The GDP per capita is also a main infuencer on all types of street crime rates and has a negative relationship. Finally, the unemployment rate is only signifcant in the unarmed robbery estimation models and has a positive relationships as well as income inequality variable in total street crime and unarmed robbery gang estimation models. This street crime has been shown to be sensitive to the change in unemployment rate and income inequality and also have positive linkages.

Rusli Latimaha · Zakaria Bahari · Nor Asmat Ismail ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2018

This paper investigated the main factors influencing the basic needs budget in three major cities with a high cost of living in Malaysia. The analysis of variance tests result indicated that the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, the state of Penang and Johor are places with high cost of living. The result also revealed that the middle income group are those who earn an income between RM2,992.50 to RM8,999 a month and the salaries of teachers were used as a proxy for the middle income groups. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis indicated that there is a difference between the basic needs budget for single-adults and one-working parent families and furthermore, the basic needs budget in the cities of Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baharu and George Town is slightly different in each town. By and large, there is a difference in the basic needs budget between single-adults in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru, and between two-working parent families among the three major cities. It is however interesting to note that there is no difference in the basic needs budgets among one-working parent families in these cities. The results also revealed that the total household income, family size, age of head of household, sex ratio, number of rooms, electrical appliances usage cost, broadband subscribers and number of privately owned cars all significantly influenced the basic needs budget regardless of which cities the respondents live.

Moau Yong Toh ·Journal of Asian Economics ·2019 ·JEL: G21; G28

This paper examines the effects of bank capital ratios on liquidity creation and business diversification for Malaysia. Annual data are analyzed for 28 commercial banks for the period 2001⬜2017. We observe that the average equity capital and capital adequacy ratios trended upward over the period from 11 to 17% and from 19 to 27%, respectively. In connection with higher bank capital ratios, we find a general shift in bank focus away from traditional lending and deposit taking activity that creates liquidity for the economy toward fee-based services and other transactional business. More nuanced patterns emerge when banks are differentiated by size, stock market listing, and domestic versus foreign ownership. In particular, while traditional on-balance sheet liquidity creation is reduced across the board in connection with higher capital ratios, off-balance sheet liquidity creation (e.g., credit commitments) declines more selectively for larger, listed, and domestic banks. We infer that smaller, non-listed, and foreign owned banks have a competitive advantage in providing the more personalized services needed for off-balance sheet liquidity creation. Further, while an increase in business diversification in connection with higher capital ratios is broadly observed, the increase is not uniformly evident for larger and domestic banks.

Saeed Solaymani ·Journal of Economic Studies ·2020 ·JEL: H2, H24, H25, O15

This study is the first attempt to analyze the effectiveness of recent two major tax policies, the reductions in personal and corporate income taxes and a rise in indirect tax and their combine, under both balanced and unbalanced budget conditions, on the economy and social aspects of Malaysia. This study uses a computable general equilibrium model to investigate the impacts of all simulation scenarios on the key macro and micro indicators. Further, based on the 2012 Malaysia Household Income and Expenditure Survey, it uses a micro-data with a significant number of households (over 56,000 individuals) to analyze the impacts of tax policies on poverty and income inequality of Malaysian. Simulation results show that, under the balanced budget condition, personal and corporate income tax reductions increase economic growth, household consumption, and investment, while the rise in indirect tax has adverse impacts on these variables. However, in the unbalanced budget condition, all tax policies, except indirect tax policy, reduce real GDP and investment in the economy and the indirect tax policy has insignificant impacts on all indicators. All policy reforms reallocate resources, especially labor, in the economy. In both budget conditions, the reductions in corporate and personal income taxes, particularly the corporate income tax, decrease poverty level of Malaysian households. Results also indicate that both tax policies are unable to influence income inequality in Malaysia.

Richard Harrison · William Scheela · P. C. Lai · Sivapalan Vivekarajah ·Asia Pacific Journal of Management ·2018

Emerging economies are characterized by the presence of institutional voids which challenge and constrain the behavior of economic agents. In this paper we report on one set of agents, angel investors, in Malaysia, which investors fear is experiencing a middle-income trap whereby economic growth and new venture formation stalls due to persistent institutional voids. This research addresses this question through interviews with 19 Malaysian business angel investors in 2015, utilizing a mixed-methods approach. Results indicate that business angels in our sample generated strong returns, though they did find it a challenge to invest in and monitor new ventures in a highly uncertain and competitive environment where there is high political uncertainty, weak legal and financial support for investors and SMEs. In order to overcome weak institutional support, business angel investors develop informal institutions by co-investing and networking with family members and government officials. They also conduct careful due diligence before investing and closely monitor their investee companies after investing. This research provides several theory and practice contributions with respect to business-angel investing in emerging economies with weak formal institutional regimes.

Kunal Sen · Matthew Tyce ·Structural Change and Economic Dynamics ·2019

Both Malaysia and Thailand were seen to be part of the miracle growth economies of East Asia and fast moving into high income status in the early 1990s. Following the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) of the mid 1990s, both countries have observed prolonged growth slowdowns. In this paper, we offer a political economy explanation of the growth slowdown in Malaysia and Thailand in their post AFC phases. We argue that the nature of the political settlement in these two countries determined a growth strategy that was predicated on offering open deals in the export-oriented manufacturing sector that were accessible to most firms, while at the same time, offering closed deals to politically connected firms in the natural resource and services sectors. As the political settlement moved to a vulnerable authoritarian one in both countries, such a dualistic deals strategy became patronage based over time and detrimental to growth.

Muhammed Abdul Khalid · Li Yang ·Journal of Asian Economics ·2021

In this paper, by combining information obtained from national accounts, household surveys, and fiscal data, we document the evolution of income inequality in Malaysia, not only at the national level (for the period of 1984–2014) but also by ethnic group (for the period of 2002–2014). To our knowledge this is the first attempt to produce inequality measurements of Malaysia, which are fully consistent with the national accounts. Our research shows that despite Malaysia’s exceptional economic growth rate, its growth has been inclusive. For the period of 2002–2014, the real income growth for the bottom 50 % is the highest (5.2 %), followed by the middle 40 % (4.1 %), the top 10 % (2.7 %) and then the top 1 % (1.6 %). However, while average growth rates are positive across all ethnic groups (Bumiputera 4.9 %, Indians 4.8 %, and Chinese 2.7 %), the highest growth of real income per adult accrued to the Bumiputera in the top 1 % (at 8.3 %), which sharply contrasts the much lower growth rate of the Indians (at 3.4 %) and negative income growth rates of the Chinese (at −0.6 %). Despite the negative growth rate, the Chinese still account for the lion’s share in the top 1 %. In 2014, 60 % of the adults in the top 1 % income group are Chinese, while 33 % Bumiputera, and 6 % Indians. We conclude that in this period, Malaysia’s growth features an inclusive redistribution between income classes, but with a twist between racial groups.

Abdul Rahim Ridzuan · Shahsuzan Zakaria · Bayu Arie Fianto · Nora Yusma Mohamed Yusoff · Nor Fatimah Che Sulaiman · Mohamad Idham Md Razak · Siswantini · Arsiyanti Lestari ·International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy ·2021 ·JEL: G10, F62

This study offers new insights for policymakers to reduce income inequality, thus ensuring economic growth which greatly benefits the poor segment of population and directing financial sector to provide easy access to financial resources for lower income group at cheaper cost. Bound test was applied to examine the long-run and short-run relationships based on the sample period beginning from 1970 until 2016. The results confirmed the existence of a long-run relationship between the variables. Financial development in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand had successfully reduced income inequality, however, a different effect was recorded in the Philippines where income distribution was worsened. Furthermore, economic growth brought positive effect to income distribution in Malaysia and Indonesia, but not for Thailand and the Philippines. Inflation, trade openness and foreign direct investment, provided mixed results for all countries. Among the policies recommendation for this paper are there should be more easy accessibility for entrepreneurs to reach the wide range of financial services including conventional and Islamic financial products, the expansion of capital market, as well as giving proper attention to the financial sector. Besides, granting the access to capital markets for low income groups or underprivileged individuals might be helpful to them either by developing entrepreneurial skill or involvement in productive activities and receive better salaries. This policy will give insight to the policymakers to strengthen their financial institutions, especially during the pandemic of Covid-19