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on South East Asia |
| By: | Bian, Alice; Howai, Niko; Cayetano, Cristobal; Creencia, Lota; Gibb, Maxine; Robinson, Elizabeth |
| Abstract: | 'Blue finance' is an emerging area of climate finance that aims to channel investment towards activities that promote the long-term health and sustainability of the ocean and the marine environment. Mobilising blue finance to scale up investment in the protection of mangroves in the Philippines can improve the health and livelihoods of coastal fishing communities and contribute to climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. Our analysis assesses the use of ‘debt-for-mangrove swaps’, and proposes a high-level conceptual framework for operationalising these swaps. |
| Keywords: | adaptation; blue bonds; blue economy; blue finance; climate action; climate resilience; debt-for-mangrove swaps; debt-for-nature swaps; mangrove-based livelihoods; mitigation |
| JEL: | F3 G3 R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2026–05–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:138528 |
| By: | Cruz, Lizelle Ann |
| Abstract: | Systemic risk remains a key concern for financial authorities, especially in emerging economies where traditional, low‑frequency balance sheet indicators often lag changing conditions. This study develops a high‑frequency Systemic Risk Sentiment Index (SRSI) for the Philippines using news headlines from 2011–2025 and an ensemble of domain‑specific financial sentiment models. Results show that negative sentiment is mainly driven by external‑sector developments, market volatility, and equity‑related news, with surges aligning with global and domestic stress episodes. Empirical tests indicate only modest predictive power for domestic equity returns, and misclassifications highlight challenges in capturing nuances of Philippine financial reporting. Overall, the SRSI is best viewed as a responsive, real‑time barometer that complements conventional systemic risk measures. |
| Keywords: | Systemic Risk, Early Warning Indicators, Sentiment Analysis, Machine Learning, Large Language Model |
| JEL: | C43 C55 E44 G14 |
| Date: | 2026–03–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:128944 |
| By: | Choong Yong Ahn (Chung-Ang University); Jagannath Panda (Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses of India) |
| Abstract: | This study is based on the hypothesis that defense industry cooperation between India and South Korea (ROK) goes beyond the technical dimensions of defense and technology transfer. Instead, it serves as a strategic pathway to foster deeper mutual trust, enhance economic interdependence in trade and investment, and strengthen both countries’ positions as credible middle powers in an increasingly fragmented and volatile international order.<p> Building upon decades of export-driven growth that underpinned the “East Asian Miracle, ” South Korea—now the world’s tenth-largest economy—seeks to transition into a sustainable, high-technology economy with the goal of joining the “higher high-income” group, by exceeding a per capita income of USD 40, 000. Simultaneously, it is developing a modern and diversified defense portfolio to deter persistent security challenges from North Korea and its ongoing efforts to attain international recognition as a nuclear state. Confronted with external security threats and a protectionist trade environment under US President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, Seoul has adopted a dual-track innovation strategy. It aims to become one of the world’s top three artificial intelligence (AI) powers and among the top four global arms exporters in the near future.<p> India—the world’s largest democracy by population—is poised to become the third-largest economy within a few years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India - Resilient India” policy. Departing from its historically inward-oriented economic posture, India is now positioning itself to seize global trade and investment opportunities. With per capita GDP still around USD 2, 400, India seeks sustained high growth through deeper integration into the global economy. On the strategic front, New Delhi seeks to become a military power commensurate with its rising economic stature—not only to meet regional security challenges but also to strengthen its diplomatic profile as a leading middle power and a representative voice of the emerging Global South. Consistent with its long-standing multi-alignment approach, India continues to engage with a wide spectrum of partners, including the Western world, Russia, and China.<p> Given their ambitious national trajectories and complementary developmental strengths, India and South Korea share a strong potential for strategic convergence as like-minded partners. Both nations pursue strategic autonomy and diversification strategies in response to the intensifying US-China rivalry and broader instability across the Indo-Pacific. This shared pursuit of autonomy provides a compelling rationale for both countries to deepen and redefine the nature of their collaboration. Despite these synergies, bilateral economic connectivity remains underdeveloped. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), launched in 2010, has yet to deliver outcomes comparable to South Korea’s trade and investment linkages with China or Vietnam. In an era of proliferating minilateralism and protectionist fragmentation, both countries must find innovative pathways to unlock their untapped potential and realize the full promise of their strategic partnership.<p> In this context, defense industrial collaboration offers a powerful catalyst for expanding trust, trade, and investment. The India-South Korea partnership in defense production has already yielded tangible results, exemplified by India’s acquisition of the K9 Vajra-T self-propelled howitzer, co-developed with South Korea’s Hanwha Defense—a landmark success story that opens the door for wider cooperation. The implications of such collaboration extend far beyond defense procurement: by working together in arms production and technology transfer, Seoul and New Delhi can cultivate long-term strategic trust and generate spillover effects across broader economic domains.<p> Defense cooperation inherently builds trust because it touches the most sensitive spheres of n |
| Keywords: | India-South Korea Strategic Collaboration;Defense Industry;Arms Trade;Industrial Policy;Dual Technology;Security-Trade Nexus;Mutual Trust;K 9 Vajra;Strategic Autonomy;CEPA |
| JEL: | F21 F52 M38 O25 Z38 |
| Date: | 2026–01–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kiepre:022554 |
| By: | World Bank |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effect of societal aging on income inequality in Malaysia, to date and in the coming decades. The study starts from the hypothesis that, all things equal, aging exerts upward pressure on inequality (Deaton and Paxson (1994, 1995)). Drawing on nationally representative household survey data over the past two decades, the study finds evidence in support of this hypothesis in Malaysia. This picture becomes even sharper when projecting inequality levels for the years when Malaysia is forecast to reach aged (2045) and super-aged (2056) status. Estimates show that between 2022 and 2056, overall inequality of individual incomes could rise by as much as 13 percent due to aging. The analysis then demonstrates that expansion of a social pension system would attenuate this projected rise in inequality. The paper also undertakes counterfactual exercises simulating the expansion of an old age social pension with various design variants. The variants considered would expand existing social transfers for older people. Given the public revenue and spending patterns in Malaysia, some of these design options are potentially manageable from a fiscal perspective. The analysis suggests that, relative to the observed situation in 2022, wider coverage of social pensions could have resulted in lower inequality in household per capita income among older individuals (by 12–26 percent), thereby lowering overall inequality (by 4-9 percent). This inequality-reducing effect of social pensions becomes even more marked when projecting estimates of inequality for 2045 and 2056. Moreover, the findings show that expanded pensions would have resulted in a lower headcount poverty rate in 2022 by 1.3–4.2 percentage points among the 60+ population, and by 0.5–1.9 points among the overall population. |
| Date: | 2026–04–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11356 |
| By: | Minhyeon Jeong (KOREA INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY (KIEP)) |
| Abstract: | This report rigorously analyzes the structural shifts in Central Asia’s global value chains (GVCs) following the Russia–Ukraine war and derives new directions for economic cooperation between Korea and Central Asia. As unprecedented Western economic sanctions against Russia have persisted and are likely to remain in place for an extended period, it is essential to examine how these sanctions structurally affect Central Asia’s GVC participation.<p> Central Asian economies are currently mobilizing national efforts to strengthen export competitiveness in pursuit of stable economic growth. Reflecting this, the study focuses on the export side of Central Asian trade and identifies how sanctions on Russia have re-shaped the region’s trade structure. At the same time, in a global environment marked by deepening trade fragmentation, raising the quality of Korea–Central Asia economic cooperation requires cooperation strategies that explicitly take into account how sanctions are altering Central Asia’s GVC linkages.<p> Accordingly, the report pursues two main objectives. First, it provides an econometrically rigorous analysis of the structural changes in Central Asia’s GVCs since the Russia–Ukraine war, treating major geopolitical shocks as external shocks to the region’s trade structure. Second, based on these analytical findings, it proposes a new strategic direction for Korea–Central Asia economic cooperation that responds to the altered trade environment and supports Central Asia’s long-term growth and industrial upgrading. |
| Keywords: | Central Asia; Ukraine War; GVC; Cooperation |
| Date: | 2025–12–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kiepwe:022502 |
| By: | Mustafi, Sourish; Roychowdhury, Punarjit |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of early-life exposure to extreme heat on children's learning achievement in India. Exploiting within-district, across-cohort variation in early-life temperature exposure, we find that greater exposure to extreme heat significantly reduces reading, writing, and mathematics achievement in later childhood. These findings remain robust across a battery of robustness checks. We further show that early-life heat exposure adversely affects children's physical development, especially among children from households with limited coping capacity and those exposed to poorer disease environments, suggesting these channels play an important role in shaping later learning achievement. Finally, projections based on future climate scenarios indicate that continued warming is likely to exacerbate human capital losses in India. These findings highlight the persistent influence of early-life climate conditions on human capital formation and underscore the importance of incorporating climate resilience into education and early childhood policy in low- and middle-income countries. |
| Keywords: | Early-life, Human Capital, Heat, Learning Achievement, Temperature, India |
| JEL: | I25 Q54 O15 J13 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1762 |
| By: | Jiyoung Moon (KOREA INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY (KIEP)) |
| Abstract: | Since the initiation of its reform and opening-up period, China’s economy has experienced continuous high-speed growth despite multiple cycles of expansion and contraction. While China’s economic growth rate steadily declined after peaking at 14.2% in 2007, this deceleration has been stable and predictable, consistently exceeding the Chinese government’s target rate. Recently, however, China’s economic growth trajectory has reached a critical new turning point. Both external uncertainties—including intensifying U.S.-China strategic competition, persistent geopolitical tensions, and global supply-chain fragmentation—and internal downward pressures, such as delayed real-estate recovery, local government debt issues, and rising youth unemployment, have exposed the limits of the old economic growth structure and fueled the “Peak China” narrative. <p> Nevertheless, predictions of a sharp economic decline remain tentative. The Chinese government is actively deploying various policy efforts to create a new phase of economic growth. Major economic strategies—such as the “dual circulation strategy, ” “new quality productive forces, ” “consumption-led economic growth, ” and “Chinese-style modernization”—along with strong policy incentives, appear well-directed toward addressing the core challenges of the economic slowdown. <p> Given that Korea maintains deeply interconnected cooperative relationships with China across multiple sectors, a careful examination of China’s economic growth prospects and the recalibration of bilateral cooperation directions is more important than ever. This report comprehensively analyzes the structural changes in China’s economy from supply-side-side perspectives, utilizes rigorous econometric modeling to forecast medium- to long-term growth and derives strategic implications for Korea’s economy. |
| Keywords: | China economic growth; Growth structure; Medium- to long-term prospects |
| Date: | 2026–04–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kiepwe:022512 |
| By: | Koyratty, Nadia; Marshall, Quinn; Kumar, Neha; Silva, Renuka; Hemachandra, Dilini; Hess, Sonja Y.; Aheeyar, Mohamed; Olney, Deanna K. |
| Abstract: | Inadequate diets are a major contributor to malnutrition and the leading risk factor for morbidity and mortality worldwide. Low fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake contributes significantly to these burdens. F&Vs are essential sources of micronutrients, and their production has a lower environmental footprint compared to other nutrient-dense foods, making them critical for both health and sustainability. Despite these well-documented benefits, global F&V intake remains below the recommended 400 grams (about 5 servings) per person per day. This is particularly true in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where less than 20% of adults meet this target. This is likely due to a complex interplay of factors including availability, affordability, accessibility, and other context-specific barriers. Narrowing F&V intake gaps requires a nuanced understanding of the interconnected factors influencing their consumption. The approach must be comprehensive and encompass addressing factors across the food system. Generating high-quality, context-specific evidence on these factors is essential to designing effective strategies that enhance F&V desirability, affordability, accessibility, and availability, ultimately supporting healthier, more sustainable diets. |
| Keywords: | fruits; vegetables; food intake; food production; project evaluation; Sri Lanka; Asia; Southern Asia |
| Date: | 2026–02–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:othbrf:181539 |
| By: | Seung Shin LEE (KOREA INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY (KIEP)) |
| Abstract: | In recent years, the Chinese government has announced a series of digital trade development plans and applied to join high standard trade agreements, aiming to gradually expand external openness in line with global digital trade cooperation standards. Since 2023, major government documents have repeatedly emphasized the development of digital trade and e-commerce. This trend reflects not only the growing weight of the digital economy in China’s overall economy, but also the government’s attempt to offset sluggish domestic growth momentum by accelerating digital transformation. According to data, digital sectors have grown by approximately 3.3 times since 2014, accounting for 42.8% of China’s GDP. This indicates that the digital economy has become one of the key growth drivers of the Chinese economy. <p> With the acceleration of digital transformation and the rapid development of digital trade, frequent trade barriers of various kinds are emerging. This has increased the need for active discussions on digital economy governance and trade rules to effectively manage such barriers. As China’s influence in global digital trade continues to expand, understanding and responding to its strategies has become a pressing task for Korea and other trading partners. |
| Keywords: | China; digital trade; digital platform |
| Date: | 2025–11–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kiepwe:022500 |
| By: | Nam Seok KIM (KOREA INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY (KIEP)) |
| Abstract: | I. Korea-U.S. Trade Deals and the Investment Surge<p> Following a prolonged period of negotiations under the “reciprocal tariff” regime, Korea, similar to other major exporters like the European Union and Japan, secured reduced tariff rates conditional upon committing to large-scale local investments in the United States. The U.S. administration has consistently placed the reconstruction of American manufacturing and domestic job creation at the top of its policy agenda. This commitment is so steadfast that Washington recently hinted at the possibility of re-imposing higher tariffs, citing Korea’s lukewarm implementation of the agreed-upon investment pledges. <p> Crucially, this surge in investment is not merely a political concession but reflects a fundamental restructuring of global value chains. As geopolitical uncertainties intensify, Korean firms are pivoting from a traditional strategy of cost minimization to one of risk minimization. By establishing production bases directly within the United States, these companies aim to insulate themselves from future trade barriers and secure stable access to their most critical market, effectively decoupling their supply chains from geopolitical flashpoints.<p> The scale of capital Korea has pledged to invest locally in the U.S. is staggering, potentially large enough to induce fundamental shifts in the valuation of the Korean won. The bilateral agreement encompasses a monumental package: USD 200 billion in direct cash investments and USD 150 billion in shipbuilding cooperation. These plans are rapidly materializing, evidenced by the U.S. government’s recent release of “America’s Maritime Action Plan, ” which explicitly designates Korea as a key partner in rebuilding U.S. naval and commercial maritime capabilities.<p> Beyond the maritime sector, this investment wave spans across Korea’s core strategic industries, including semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries, and advanced electronics. Major Korean conglomerates are rapidly breaking ground on large-scale manufacturing facilities across key U.S. states. This broad-based migration of manufacturing capacity signifies a deep integration of Korea’s industrial ecosystem with the U.S. supply chain, moving far beyond simple assembly operations to include high-value-added production processes.<p> It is unprecedented for Korea to execute outward FDI (OFDI) of this magnitude based on a bilateral government agreement. Consequently, this unparalleled volume of capital outflow has sparked intense debate and varied projections among economists regarding its potential impact on the domestic economy. |
| Keywords: | Outward FDI; Korea-US FDI |
| Date: | 2026–02–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kiepwe:022508 |
| By: | Gyu-Pan KIM (KOREA INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY (KIEP)) |
| Abstract: | As the competition for technological supremacy between the United States and China has intensified since the 2020s, the Japanese government is also staking its future on the “revival” of its semiconductor industry by strengthening its supply chain. Japan’s global market share in semiconductor products peaked at around 50% in the 1980s but has since fallen to around 10% in the 2020s. It is now maintaining its presence in the so-called legacy semiconductor sector, which includes power semiconductors, microcontrollers (MCUs), and CMOS image sensors. In the semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials sector, which maintains a relatively high global market share, certain semiconductor materials—such as yellow phosphorus, helium, rare gases, and fluorite—are exposed to the risk of supply chain disruptions due to high import dependence on specific countries.<p> This WEB paper analyzes the supply chain structure of Japan’s semiconductor industry and examines the government’s semiconductor industry policy from the perspective of strengthening supply chain resilience, with the aim of exploring future directions for cooperation between Japan and South Korea in the semiconductor industry. In the second section we analyze the input structure of Japan’s semiconductor industry using input-output analysis, while also assessing the import dependency of Japanese semiconductor products and materials to examine the supply chain structure of the industry. The third section provides an overview of the industrial policies the Japanese government has been pursuing since 2020 to revitalize the semiconductor industry, with a particular focus on the next-generation semiconductor project—the Rapidus 2-nanometer foundry. Section IV proposes a cooperation agenda between South Korea and Japan which involves: first, the sharing of supply chain information regarding export control, and joint procurement of semiconductor raw materials; and second, the joint development of semiconductor back-end packaging technologies and cooperation in the field of AI semiconductors. |
| Keywords: | Japan's Semiconductor Supply Chain |
| Date: | 2026–04–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kiepwe:022513 |
| By: | Mahreen Khan; Atonu Rabbani; Christopher Woodruff |
| Abstract: | Institutional theory explains organizational responses to external pressures through decoupling between formal adoption and substantive practice, but existing accounts are derived largely from compliance-based interventions in Global North settings. This paper examines how capability-based interventions, defined as those that embed practices in individuals rather than formal structures, reshape the conditions under which decoupling arises. When interventions are enacted through actors situated in the technical core, ”policy-practice” decoupling can be attenuated. However, ”means-ends” decoupling may emerge when the authority required to convert capability into outcomes is contested. The trade-offs are particularly visible in Global South production contexts, where role-level gender segregation makes supervisory authority socially evaluated rather than presumed by formal title. Moreover, tightly interlinked production practices place coordination at the center of performance evaluations. We test these arguments using a large-scale program that trains and promotes women into first-line supervisory roles in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment sector. Using matched within-factory comparisons and high-frequency production data, we estimate effects on operational efficiency, subordinate evaluations of supervisory practice, and working conditions. Lines managed by trained female supervisors operate more efficiently, with gains accumulating over the supervisor’s tenure in the position. A gender decomposition reveals that capability investment offsets a substantial evaluative penalty that untrained women supervisors face relative to men, and that intervention effects are concentrated in outcomes dependent on relational coordination. The findings identify how capability-based interventions shift the locus of decoupling and identify the organizational conditions under which transnational governance produces substantive change.Number: 2025-07-02 |
| Keywords: | female management; Bangladeshi garment sector; export manufacturing |
| JEL: | J16 J71 M51 M54 O14 O15 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2025-07-02 |
| By: | Mohapatra, Souryabrata; Paltasingh, Kirtti Ranjan; Sahoo, Dukhabandhu; Mohanty, Pritisudha |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the intricate interplay between farm mechanisation, climate change and rural farm wages across genders in India. By employing panel regression models on district-level data for 26 years, our findings reveal that both physical (density of tractors, power tillers, pump sets) and structural (cropping and irrigation intensity) farm mechanisation positively impact farm wages for both genders. However, chemical mechanisation, specifically intensive fertiliser use, negatively influences female wage rates while positively affecting male wages. Additionally, climatic risks, such as high temperatures and deviations in rainfall, have significantly detrimental effects on farm wages. Considering other socioeconomic factors, our study identifies that occupational diversity and access to banks positively influence farm wages, while gender literacy gaps have a negative impact. The policy implication derived from our research advocates the promotion of all three forms of farm mechanisation to enhance productivity. However, this mechanisation should be tailored to adapt to evolving climate conditions and social and gender-specific needs, ensuring a balanced and inclusive approach to agricultural development. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Farm Mechanisation, Gender Wages, India |
| JEL: | J16 O33 Q54 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:128469 |
| By: | Batabyal, Amitrajeet; Yoo, Seung Jick |
| Abstract: | We analyze the role of regular elections in ensuring water pollution cleanup in the Ganges river in a north Indian city. Our central result is that, in the absence of elections, politicians have no incentive to undertake pollution cleanup, leading to poor environmental outcomes. In contrast, when elections are present, retrospective voting by a representative voter, who re-elects incumbents only if observed cleanup exceeds a threshold, can effectively discipline politicians. We show that this threshold strategy induces politicians to choose positive levels of pollution abatement in equilibrium. By explicitly characterizing the optimization problems of the politician, the voter, and the resulting equilibrium, we demonstrate that electoral accountability can serve as a powerful mechanism for improving water quality in the Ganges. Our findings highlight the critical role of democratic institutions in mitigating environmental externalities in developing country contexts. |
| Keywords: | Election, Ganges River, Pollution Cleanup, Retrospective Voting |
| JEL: | C72 D72 Q53 |
| Date: | 2026–01–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:128634 |
| By: | Chahine, Marie |
| Abstract: | This research paper presents a strategic economic model aimed at addressing dual structural challenges: demographic crises and food insecurity. Focusing on Japan as a prime example of an advanced economy, the study underscores the necessity of sustainable partnerships to mitigate such pressures. The paper proposes the "Global Resource Rings" methodology as a robust alternative to traditional debt-based models, replacing reliance on foreign exchange with a "Resource-Based Credit" system that facilitates the exchange of advanced technology for agricultural and environmental resources. The study employs a theoretical framework that integrates the "Total Sovereign Harmony Equation" (TUSH) as a tool for internal governance, alongside "Resource Engineering" as a mechanism for international exchange. It presents an empirical model linking Japanese technology to the productive capacities in Lebanon. The paper concludes that achieving true economic sovereignty requires a structural shift from a consumption-oriented model to a "production economy, " wherein national burdens—such as waste and surplus raw materials—are transformed into strategic assets for sustainable development. These findings confirm that such systematic integration fosters a resilient economy capable of absorbing global shocks, providing a practical roadmap for cross-border strategic partnerships. |
| Keywords: | Economic Sovereignty; Resource Engineering; TUSH Equation; Circular Economy; Global Resource Rings; Sustainable Trade; Demographic Resilience; Barter Systems |
| JEL: | F13 F52 N55 O13 Q56 |
| Date: | 2026–05–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129259 |
| By: | Bagavathinathan, Karan Singh; Tandley Omprakash, Sridevi |
| Abstract: | India’s post-2017 digital public infrastructure — GST, UPI, electricity, and bank credit — provides high-frequency administrative data weeks ahead of the 45-to-60-day quarterly GDP release. We build a 26-quarter panel of thirteen indicators (2019Q3–2025Q4) and evaluate seven nested specifications under a Ridge–Gradient-Boosting–Bayesian state-space ensemble. Adding UPI transaction volume yields the lowest out-of-sample RMSE (0.75 vs. 0.80 for the official-only baseline) over an eleven-quarter post-COVID window; the Clark–West gain is in the predicted direction but not conventionally significant (p = 0.18). A variance decomposition attributes 84 percent of forecast uncertainty to reducible components, indicating a power-limited rather than noise-dominated framework. |
| Keywords: | GDP nowcasting; digital public infrastructure; Bayesian state-space models; high-frequency data; India |
| JEL: | E00 |
| Date: | 2026–05–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129197 |
| By: | Asad, Khwaja; Siddiqu, Danish Ahmed |
| Abstract: | The study intended to examine the effects of investor protection, emotional finance (including factors like anxiety, optimism, and happiness), fee (price value), perceived risk, and past performance (performance expectation) on actual use behavior through the mediating role of behavioral intention in Islamic mutual funds in Pakistan. It also explores the moderating effects of market knowledge and religiosity on the relationship between these factors. The study targeted Islamic mutual fund consumers in Karachi, collecting 303 responses via purposive sampling and analyzed the data using PLS-SEM. The results have shown that anxiety, happiness, investor protection, and optimism positively influence emotional finance and behavioral intention, while perceived risk negatively impacts behavioral intention. Fee (price value) has an insignificant negative effect. Behavioral intention significantly mediates investor protection, past performance, and actual use behavior but shows insignificant mediation for emotional finance. Market knowledge negatively moderates perceived risk and emotional finance, while religiosity positively moderates fee (price value) and past performance. Other effects are insignificant. The study has recommended that managers should focus on strengthening investor protection, and mitigating perceived risks to boost behavioral intention and actual use of Islamic mutual funds. This study enriches the understanding of how emotional and cognitive factors, along with market knowledge and religiosity, shape investor behavior in Islamic mutual funds, offering valuable insights for both theory and practice. |
| Keywords: | Purchase Behavior, Islamic Mutual Funds, UTAUT, Pakistan, PLS-SEM |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341012 |
| By: | Kambayashi, Ryo (Musashi University); Kato, Takao (Colgate University) |
| Abstract: | This paper revisits long-term employment practices in Japan and provides new evidence on their evolution over 1982–2022, extending prior work to cover the most recent decades marked by the global Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic (postwar Japan's two largest recessions). Contrary to the widespread view that Japan’s long-term employment system has eroded since the 1990s, we find that the estimated 10-year job retention rates have remained remarkably stable over the past four decades. In particular, prime-age workers with at least five years of tenure (core employees) continue to exhibit consistently high retention rates even during postwar Japan's two largest recessions. Although job stability among young entry-level workers has declined significantly, cohort analysis shows that this early-career instability does not persist. Most workers eventually transition into long-term employment as they age. We also find no evidence of a decline in the overall share of core employees, although younger male cohorts exhibit temporary delays in accumulating long tenure. Overall, our findings point to the resilience of Japan’s long-term employment system and suggest that policy discussions should be grounded in its continued relevance. |
| Keywords: | long-term employment, job retention rates, Japanese labor market, employment stability, cohort analysis, Employment Status Survey (ESS) |
| JEL: | J21 J23 J63 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18665 |
| By: | Siddiqua, Naila; Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed |
| Abstract: | Purpose: The purpose of present research is to explore the channels through which workplace loneliness effects on productivity of employees. We proposed a theoretical framework suggesting that workplace loneliness increases the Need to Belong (NtB), and Affective Commitment to Organization (ACO), these would in turn effect productivity of employees. We also contend that the direct effect of loneliness on productivity in moderated by Collective culture Orientation (CO) and Job Autonomy (JA), in a way that high levels of of both will weaken the negative effect of loneliness on productivity. Design / Methodology: Present research has been conducted using descriptive strategy following quantitative approach. The researcher has adopted survey design to accumulate the data. The data collection method in this research was primary through close ended questionnaire. The population was comprised of the individuals working in any organization. The researcher has adopted simple random sampling technique to select the participants, however the sample size was 312. Data was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The variables that were taken as independent were workplace loneliness (WPL), Need to Belong (NtB), Job Autonomy (JA), Collective Orientation (CO) and Affective Commitment to Organization (ACO). The dependent variable of the study was Work Productivity of Employees. Findings: As per the findings, the relationship of Workplace Loneliness (WPL) seem to have a positive effect on Work Productivity (WP) of employees. WPL also seems to positively effect Need to Belong (NtB), which in turn positive effect productivity, hence a significant positive mediation of NtB between WPL and WP. The effect of WPL on Affective commitment (AC) seem to be insignificant however, AC seem to have a positive effect on WP. Both moderations effects seem to remain inconclusive Research Implications: The results strongly suggest that loneliness is not just an individual phenomenon but a social phenomenon that we show here relate to Employees' productivity. A practical implication of our results to consider loneliness an organizational problem that needs to be tackled to help employees and improve work productivity. |
| Keywords: | Workplace loneliness, productivity, job autonomy, need to belong, affective commitment, collectivism orientation |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341084 |