Research

Chakrin Utit · Mohd Alzaiery Abdul · M. Yusof Saari ·International Journal of Economics and Management ·2022 ·JEL: C67, D57, L11

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are undeniably the backbone of many developing economies, considering their sizeable share of business establishments and contribution to employment creation. Nevertheless, they have fallen short of policymakers' expectations because of the weak interlinkage issue that limits their ability to create wealth. The issue stems from SMEs' excessive reliance on non-SMEs as their primary input sources, while non-SMEs are more dependent on their cluster and imports. This paper seeks to assess the magnitude of the issue in Malaysia and Thailand by comparing the productive structures of SMEs in both economies using the cascaded input-output modelling technique. The findings validated the weak interlinkage issue in Malaysia and Thailand, with the latter suffering from it to a greater extent. Overall, SMEs remain integral to the growth drivers of developing economies. Therefore, development policies should continue to support them by considering their value-added multiplier impacts. Considering all facts and figures, strengthening existing linkage programmes and establishing an SME content requirement policy are this study's two recommendations for improving the interlinkage situation

Chakrin Utit · Anitha Rosland · M Yusof Saari · Muhammad Daaniyall Abd Rahman ·Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies ·2021 ·JEL: Q50, Q53, D57

This paper assesses the economic impact of the recycling sector in Malaysia to gauge its potential for strengthening green-based economic growth in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study employs a comparative impact assessment to analyse the input-output multiplier and linkages using the national input-output tables for 2005, 2010 and 2015. Our results indicate that the recycling sector has high potential to transform waste to wealth from which its value-added multiplier is sufficiently high and is also reinforced with high spillover effects. The recycling sector is identified as a strategic sector, where approximately 70% of its products are embodied in intermediate demand. This sector conforms to circular economy practices as other sectors in the economy are utilising recyclables for remanufacturing purposes. The value-added footprint level of the recycling sector also shows an increasing trend that implies its growing importance in supporting the growth of other production sectors in the economy. At the sectoral level, most of the recyclables are utilised by the Wholesale and Retail Trade sector. Hence, our work emphasises the importance of prioritising the recycling sector in development plans, as well as improving and strengthening the backward linkages between the recycling sector with other production sectors.

Norlida Hanim Mohd Salleh · Suhaya Samad ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2018

The Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) is fundamentally established for the purpose of addressing the poverty problem caused by the absence of agricultural land to generate income. Now, through the plan the main problem has been solved. In fact, in order to increase farmer income, various efforts have been made. Various forms of involvement are involved by settlers, including the involvement of the FELDA community in the homestay program. Participation in the homestay program not only addresses the problem of the lack of provision of accommodation services in remote tourism areas but can generate additional income to the community as well as bringing some additional impact. This study aims to analyze the impact of the community that is involved in the program. The impacts are in four (4) aspects, which are the economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects. This study is based on fieldwork with the aid of questionnaire as a study instrument. A total of 161 respondents were involved in this interview at several homestay locations throughout Peninsular Malaysia. Sample selection is randomly stratified. Mean analysis is used for the purpose of assessing the impact obtained besides assisted by one-way ANOVA test and Post Hoc Turkey HSD test. The findings show that the homestay program has a positive impact on the businessman in terms of economic, social, cultural and environmental impact. Compared to the economic impact, the higher the Semenchu Homestay, Mata Ayer and Sg. As compared to other homestays, while in terms of cultural impact, homestay Mata Ayer, Semenchu and Jengka homestay over other homestays. In terms of environmental impact, the benefits enjoyed by Homestay Sg. Klah is the highest. For social impact, this study found no significant difference between all homestay studies. Since the involvement in the homestay program can have significant impact on entrepreneurs, encouragement and assistance from the government and the FELDA are required. Homestay operators can also make high-impact homestays such as Homestay Semencu, Mata Ayer, Jengka and Sg. Klah as a model for developing their homestay.

Siti `Aisyah Baharudin · Hayyan Nassar Waked · Mohd Shah Paimen ·Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia ·2021 ·JEL: A1, D1, E7

This research attempts to analyze households’ responses to Movement Control Orders (MCO) and assess the impact of MCO on consumer confidence based on the potential disproportionate impact on various income groups in Malaysia. Households’ responses and consumer confidence are measured through an online survey to collect the targeted groups’ financial situation and household information and expectations during MCO. A total of 660 respondents from all over Malaysia were involved in this study. Analysis of the MCO responses showed that households were able to comply with MCO rules with the highest positive response of 99.7%. In comparison, the households’ responses to the implementation of MCO showed the highest negative response of 18.4%, with the majority represented by the B40 income category (65.2%). The consumer confidence present index is operating at six times higher than the expectation index, which indicates that the implementation of MCO in the short-run has a moderate impact on households’ economic status than in the long-run involving the COVID-19 pandemic effect on the overall economy. According to the people’s confidence to the government in the long-run, current political developments are essential to influence the people’s confidence in the economy. The consumer confidence index gives an overview of two policies that need to be emphasized by the government. Based on the short-run status of food consumption, this study strongly recommends that the policymakers consider establishing a National Food Stockpile in light of the nation’s food security and moving on to food-based agriculture that considers the targeted groups in the long-run.