• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.607-617
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• 2020

This study investigates the causal relationship between public and private external debt and economic growth in developing countries. Our model includes 18 selected Asian developing and transition economies from 1995 thru 2019. We employ the dynamic heterogeneous panel data methods, pooled mean group (PMG), robust cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL), and pairwise panel causality test. The results of PMG and CS-ARDL show the existence of causality between external debt and economic growth both in the short-run and long-run. The pairwise Granger causality test found the bidirectional causal relationship runs from total external debt, public external debt, and private external debt to economic growth and economic growth to external debt. The results showed first the existence of causality in the short-run and long-run between external debt and economic growth and the second, bi-directional causality that runs from external debt to economic growth and economic growth to external debt. Both the dynamic models and robust estimator found the same inferences about the impact of main variables on economic growth in Asian developing and transition economies. The findings of this study suggest to assure debt management, investment in productive sectors, increase domestic savings, decrease external dependency, and focus on international trade.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.79-104
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• 2016

This paper investigates the impact and behavior of foreign equity investment in Asian emerging economies during the 2007-2008 and the 2010-2012 global financial crises in terms of volatility and return. The empirical results indicate that foreign investors show positive feedback trading behavior in the sample countries. We find evidence that foreign investors' net selling behavior significantly increases market volatility in most countries.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.587-597
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• 2021

This study investigates the nexus among the South Asian economies. Effects of shocks in the equity market of one country on the equity market of the other country are examined. For empirical analysis, the time series monthly data is used for the period from February 2013 to August 2019. The study focuses on the four larger economies of the region, namely, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. To investigate for asymmetric effects of positive and negative shocks, EGARCH model is used. The findings show the mix nature of the spillovers between the various pairs of countries. The equity market of Pakistan has two-way spillover effects with the equity market of Bangladesh, but has no association with the equity markets of India and Sri Lanka. The volatility in the equity market of India significantly influences the volatility of the financial markets of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Similarly, the capital market of Sri Lanka has a negative association with the equity market of India as well as Bangladesh, but does not affect the equity market of any other country. These findings validate the argument in the literature that geographic location influences the nexus among equity markets. The findings are important for policy-makers and investors.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.273-309
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• 2021

The development of regulatory systems varies between transition and non-transition economies. This suggests that they provide different incentives for entrepreneurial development and could have varied effects on the economy because they have different methods to deal with market failure. However, limited empirical evidence exists to prove the assumption of dichotomy. Using comprehensive data for institutional quality, labor market and financial market development, this research sought to analyze their effect on employment growth at micro level. The results show that the quality of institutions in transition economies are poorer relative to those in non-transition economies, but their financial and labor markets are more developed than the latter. Further analysis for the transition sample shows that the three variables are individually positively related with employment growth. For the non-transition sample, institutional quality and labor market flexibility bear a positive and significant effect on employment. Financial market development enters the model with a negative coefficient when regressed alone, but a joint test of significance finds that all the variables have a positive effect on employment growth. This result could imply that there is interdependence between institutional quality, labor flexibility and financial market development in firm-employment-growth relationship, or complementarity between regulations and the quality of institutions. Alternatively, this finding suggests that a stringently regulated credit market in non-transition economies have a selection effect-allocating credit only to entrepreneurs who already demonstrate strong growth potential. In sum, despite differences in the evolution of regulatory environment between the two samples, both of them complement employment growth at firm level. The overall implication of these findings is that less rigid regulations and coherent policies that are enforced with impartiality provide incentives for firms to expand.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2019

Asian countries have been striving for economic integration for decades. This effort may lead to the convergence of income level through externalities across countries. This paper investigates whether the convergence phenomenon holds for income levels in Asian countries for the periods between 1975-2015 applying the traditional methodology of ${\sigma}-$ and ${\beta}-convergence$. Although the absolute ${\beta}-convergence$ of income levels in Asian and ASEAN+3 countries do hold, ${\sigma}-convergence$ and conditional ${\beta}-convergence$ of income level generally do not exist. This suggests that the benefits of economic integration in Asian countries were not yet realized to be significant. A plausible explanation is that the economies of Asian countries are largely based on low trade openness and a high level of informal economy.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.27
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• pp.29-65
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• 2005

Northeast Asian economies have achieved high levels of growth due to a stable economic environments and economic policy reforms for free trade. As Northeast Asia has been risen as big bloc in the world and in the future in case free trade agreement could be concluded, trade volume could be increased dramatically. And it is evident that disputes will be increased in Northeast Asian economic bloc. Arbitration must be popular in resolving international commercial disputes in Northeast Asian bloc in order to increase the volume of intra-trade in the bloc. Through arbitration, the parties can have full autonomy and can resolve disputes independently, impartially and without delay. But in order for the parties to make use of arbitration in the bloc, they must be fully aware of the arbitration laws of Northeast Asian nations in view of the similarity and difference of the laws. Therefore, this paper deals with arbitral award in Northeast Asian Nations' arbitration laws in view of comparative law.

• The International Journal of Costume Culture
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.93-100
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• 2010

The business strategies of small to medium enterprises (SMEs), especially in relation to the Japanese apparel wholesaler and apparel manufacture markets, have been undertaken by Urakami and his colleagues (Komiya et al., 2009; Urakami et al., 2009; Urakami & Wu 2010). The aim now is to investigate the changing business climate of apparel products in Asia, now that China seems to a major player of apparel products in the Asian region. The production of apparel products from China has resulted in a major shift of the business environment. Such products have now invaded import markets throughout the world economies. Such a drastic change in the business environment impacts the structure of distribution channels in competing economies, affecting both wholesalers and manufactures. This research focuses on the effects this has had on the Japanese distribution channels. The findings derived from our previous research are highlighted, together with several planned hypotheses that require testing, in order to build a clearer understanding of apparel manufacturing in the Asian region.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.39-49
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• 2017

This study develops an early warning system (EWS) to prevent the banking crisis. The proposed system incorporates both the perspective of crises and fundamental characteristics of the banking system in each economy. A fuzzy logic method with data from 1990-2009 is employed to construct the EWS of banking crisis based on 21 pre-determined variables from the aspect of total economy, financial and banking sectors. Our results show: Firstly, South Korea recorded higher probability to have a banking crisis in 1997 as there was large foreign debt in dollars. Secondly, China, Australia and New Zealand banking systems appear to be vulnerable to the crisis in 2007. The surge of China export, FDIs and booming stock market were signs of a heated economy. Australia with high commodity prices was also vulnerable to crisis. Thirdly, Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand banking systems appear to be exposed to the higher chance of a crisis in 2010. Japan with deflation coupled with expensive yen did not augur well for its export. Overall, the findings show that in Asian Financial Crisis 1997/98 and Global Financial Crisis 2008/09, many economies are exposed to a higher probability of having the crisis and this shows an urgent need of having surveillance in these economies.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.363-370
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• 2021

This study aims to revisit the issues and misconceptions about financial inclusion (FI) indices. For indices construction, this study uses two approaches: one approach following the methodology of Sarma (2008) which is based on UNDP methodology, while the other is the Dynamic Factor Model (DFM)-based index of Stock and Watson (2002) and Rehman et al. (2021). The data of 18 economies of Asia from 1997 till 2017 is used for indices construction and analysis. The authors constructed macro and micro-level financial inclusion indices based on the different types of financial inclusion indicators. Second, the authors have critically evaluated two different approaches, and the results show that Sarma (2008)-based index show financial inclusion's level, while DFM-based index reveal fluctuation in the current year's financial inclusion level due to the prior variations. For measuring the level of financial inclusion, the Sarma (2008) index is effective, while for forecasting the level of financial inclusion, the DFM approach is more appropriate. Furthermore, the micro and macro aspects of financial inclusion should be reflected in separate indices for better understanding and in-depth insights.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.19-29
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• 2021

This study aims to measure financial inclusion and examine its impact on income inequality in a panel of 18 Asian countries over the period 1997-2017. Two alternative approaches for developing financial inclusion index are used: one approach following the methodology of Sarma (2008), while the other is the Dynamic Factor Model (DFM)-based index. The impact of individual indicators and index of financial inclusion on inequality in income is analyzed. The Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) approach is used for empirical analysis. The results indicate that micro-level financial inclusion has a weak negative and statistically significant impact on income inequality. Macro-level index and all individual indicators of financial inclusion do not affect income inequality in the selected sample of economies. The income inequality issues have different natures and cannot be fixed by financial inclusion only. It needs holistic structural reforms to enable fair distribution of income and make an equitable financial system. Financial inclusion is a relatively less important intervention tool regarding fixing the issue of income inequality. This is one of the first studies that used the DFM method for financial inclusion indices construction.