• International Area Studies Review
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.3-27
• /
• 2012

This paper adopts recently developed panel unit root test that is cross-sectionally robust. Cointegration test is also used to find whether regional house prices are in line with gross regional domestic production (GRDP) in the long run in Korea during 1989-2009. Based on the panel VECM and the panel ARDL models, we examine causal relationships among the variables and estimate the long-run elasticity. We find evidence of cointegration and bidirectional causal relationships between regional house prices and GRDP. The results of long-run estimates, using both fixed effect and ARDL models, show that house prices positively and significantly influence on the GRDP and vice versa. Together with these results, the findings of ARDL-ECM imply that there exists a long-run equilibrium relationship between house prices and regional economic variables even if there is a possibility of short-run deviation from its long-run path.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.5
• /
• pp.11-19
• /
• 2021

The paper examines the nexus between economic globalization, financial development and institutional reform in India and Sri Lanka during the period 1990-2017. Using the panel ARDL method, the study finds the long-run relationship between financial development, economic globalization, and institutional reforms. From the short-run equation, the study finds the negative and statistically significant impact of economic globalization on financial development in India whereas Sri Lanka has a positive impact of institutional quality on financial development. Then, the study finds no short-run causality between financial development, economic globalization and institutional reforms. However, the study finds bi-direction strong causality between economic globalization and financial development. Further, the study finds uni-directional strong causality from institutional quality to financial development and economic globalization. Moreover, there is an existence of long-run causality between financial development, economic globalization and institutional quality. For the robustness of the results, the study considers the financial market as a proxy for financial development. Then, the study applies the panel ARDL test and find the consistency in the results. The policymakers in India and Sri Lanka should focus on institutional reforms so that it can reap the benefit of economic globalization. In turn, the quality of institutional reforms can thereby lead to financial development.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.10
• /
• pp.109-117
• /
• 2021

This study investigates the effects of FDI and other macroeconomic variables on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in selected ASEAN+3 countries from 1981 till 2016. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) for each ASEAN+3 country was constructed using the Malmquist productivity index method. Then, a panel ARDL framework (dynamic heterogeneous panel), namely Pooled Mean Group (PMG), Mean Group (MG), and Dynamic Fixed Effect (DFE) are employed in examining the effects of FDI and other controlling variables on TFP. The new findings show that FDI has a significant and positive impact on TFP in the long run and the short run in ASEAN+3 countries. Besides, the results also reveal that in the long run, other variables such as the average number of years of schooling and the ratio of high-skilled to low-skilled labor also have a significant and positive effect on TFP. However, economic openness, government expenditure on R&D, and interaction between countries and FDI have a negative and significant impact on TFP. These findings implied that the recipient countries must ensure their political stability and offer various incentives to attract more investors. Furthermore, the influx of foreign investors, especially large ones and lower costs, should be encouraged by each country as FDI inflows can boost their TFP growth.

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

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.99-109
• /
• 2021

This study aims to examine the causal links between the fiscal components, i.e., government expenditures (GE) and government revenues (GR), and their impact on the economic growth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. This analysis considered secondary panel data from 1990 to 2019 at an annual frequency. The data is obtained from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank Database. A panel cointegration and panel DH causality (Dumitrescu and Hurlin) approach was employed on financial data at an annual frequency from 1990 to 2019. The findings from panel unit root and panel cointegration tests demonstrate that, at first, all the variables are stationary and cointegrated. The panel ARDL disclosed that GE has a long-run connection with GDP, is significantly and positively associated with economic growth in the long run, whereas GR is significant in the short run. The contribution of GE is high in sustaining economic growth as compared to GR. Also, cointegration regression disclosed that GE is more sensitive toward GDP, while GR is less elastic. Lastly, the findings reveal that bidirectional causality exists between GE and GR variables. These results have policy implications for sustainable economic growth in the ASEAN region.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.12
• /
• pp.75-83
• /
• 2021

Variation in demand, natural resource availability, and technological advancement within a country are the main reasons for necessitating export and import activities between nations. Accordingly, this paper aims to analyze the effect of economic openness on Multifactor Productivity (MFP) in selected Asian countries (Vietnam, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore) based on data for the period 1990-2018. The analysis conducted in the study employed the panel ARDL approach based on the estimation by Pooled Mean Group (PMG), Mean Group (MG), and Dynamic Fixed Effect (DFE). The Hausman test conducted indicates that the PMG estimation is better than that of MG and DFE since it has a higher variability value than the significance value. The results revealed that economic openness is able to elicit significant and positive effects on short-term and long-term MFP growth. In addition, the study established that other variable, such as the number of schooling years, are also able to produce a positive and significant effect on MFP growth in the long term. Since economic openness can impact MFP growth, every country should thus increase its export activities through more capital and worker inputs that will stimulate greater production.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.10
• /
• pp.229-238
• /
• 2021

The article applies the ECM - ARDL model to examine the relationship between economic indicators and the existence of the disease in the long run of 10 ASEAN countries from 2000 to 2019. There are two models: The first model investigates the impact of GDP per capita, net inflow FDI, unemployment rate, and inflation rate on the proportion of export to GDP of ASEAN countries, the second model is similar to the first one but adds one more variable to the independent variable list - 'the variable for disease'. The results prove the long-run effect of GDP per capita, FDI, unemployment and inflation rate on export of the selected countries, though individual country shows differences in the sign and magnitude of these impacts. Surprisingly, the number of people suffering from disease does not affect the export of all selected countries as expected. The results of the two models also indicate that the disequilibrium in the short run converges to the equilibrium in the long run with a high proportion, especially in the case of Cambodia and the Philippines, with the rate of 95.65% and 151.94%, respectively. The findings can be useful for policymakers in promulgating efficient policies to enhance the trading activities of the selected countries.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.801-808
• /
• 2021

The issue of the relationship between environmental degradation and human health has been widely addressed by medical doctors. However, economists have sparsely debated it. The release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air can cause several environmental problems and, thus, it can affect human health. Therefore, it is imperative to examine the effect of CO2 emissions on life expectancy in the D-8 countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey) from 1992 to 2017. The panel ARDL method is employed and, then, the PMG estimator is selected. The results show that economic growth, population growth and health expenditure can significantly and positively affect life expectancy, but CO2 emissions can have a significant and negative effect on life expectancy. Since, the major findings reveal that life expectancy can be explained by CO2 emissions. Hence, it is important to formulate policies on reducing CO2 emissions so that life expectancy will not be affected. Energy diversification policies should be formulated or improved in some countries. This is to ensure that the countries are not highly dependent on non-renewable energy that can harm the environment. The government should increase its expenditure on the health sector to save more lives by extend human lifespan.