• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.385-393
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• 2021

This study investigates the effect of infrastructure, economic sectors and its status, foreign direct investment and private investment, as well as the role of political stability in enhancing the tourism demand in the ASEAN region. The research collected the secondary data from the World Bank database and the UNWTO website of 10 ASEAN countries over 17 years from 2000 to 2016. Applying the generalized method of moments, this research found that, "private investment", "economic sectors", "exchange rate and infrastructure measured by "using of the internet" can increase the tourism demand of a country in the ASEAN region. This research provided evidence indicating that the "foreign direct investment" and "inflation" are two detrimental factors for tourist attraction. The major finding confirmed the positive role of "political stability" in increasing tourist arrivals. First, attracting tourists to a country always poses many challenges to its government. It has been observed in the past decades that though there were many documents, which confirmed that industry can help in promoting tourism, very few studies investigated the role of both agriculture and manufacturing sectors in tourism promotion. Secondly, there are only a few studies which verifies the stability of the political system to the tourism demand in the ASEAN region and that this variable (political stability) has the strongest impact.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.10
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• pp.109-117
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• 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
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.191-199
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• 2021

The study examines the causal relationship between financial development and economic growth through trade openness for the leading ASEAN countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). The study employs a panel data for the period of 25 years spanning from 1995 to 2015 for the six countries, yielding a balanced panel of 150 observations. Fixed effect model (FEM) and random effect model (REM) are used for the panel data, following the Hausman test performed for model selection. The trivariate Granger causality test is also used to check for possible relationship between the variables. The results show that REM is chosen based on the Hausman test result, suggesting that the trade openness has a positive association with growth whereas the financial development is positively, but insignificantly associated with growth. The reason for this is that the financial development and economic growth may be related to each other. The results are, then, further explored and confirmed by the causality test. That is, the financial development and the economic growth, through the trade openness, are found to have bidirectional positive relationships. This implies that there would be shortcomings when ignoring the presence of trade openness, which positively impacts the relationship between finance and growth.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.7
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• pp.43-54
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• 2021

Human capital and innovation capacities are essential elements and one of the sustainable approaches to driving economic growth. However, there is debate among scholars concerning these two factors in fostering economic growth. This study investigates the relationships between human capital and innovation capacity and economic growth in selected ASEAN countries, namely, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Economists widely discussed the interrelation of human capital and innovation. A large body of literature stated that human capital is an essential factor and engine of economic growth. Innovation has become key in transforming the economic development of developing countries. We analyze human capital (HC) and innovation capacity (INC) using static panel data analysis. The data analysis shows that the fixed-effect model is the best model in this study. Further, human capital (HC) has a significant positive relationship with economic growth. Meanwhile, innovation capacity has no significant relationship with economic growth. We also found that Malaysia's coefficient of human capital and innovation capacity is higher and more efficient than in Thailand and Indonesia. In conclusion, human capital and innovation capacity are crucial elements for measuring economic growth. Skilled human capital contributes significantly to the economic growth and economic development of a nation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1385-1389
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• 2015

The aim of this study was to investigate the sun protection use behaviour among university students from 25 low, middle income and emerging economy countries. Using anonymous questionnaires, data were collected from 18,687 undergraduate university students aged 18-30 years (mean age 20.8, SD=2.8) from 26 universities in 25 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Overall, 57.2% of university students reported liking to sunbathe and of those only 48.1% used sun protection when sunbathing. In multivariate logistic regression, younger age, being female, coming from a wealthy or quite well off economic family background, living in an upper middle or high income country, lighter skin tone, and other health behaviours were found to be associated with sun protection use behaviour. Low sun protection use calls for health promotion programmes to prevent unprotected sun exposure.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.151-159
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• 2021

This study aims to compare the level of stability of the Islamic banking system in the ASEAN region, particularly in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam in the face of macroeconomic turmoil. The data used in this study is secondary data obtained from the official website of the government and banks of each country, with sampling using purposive sampling technique during the period 2013 to 2019. The data analysis method used is panel data using Eviews software. The results showed that the average Z-score value of Islamic banking during the study period in each country was Indonesia (15.61), Malaysia (15.56) and Brunei Darussalam (19.10). The GDP (X1) has a positive effect on the stability of Islamic banking by 54.29%, inflation (X2) has a negative effect of -12.24% on the stability of Islamic banking, and the exchange rate (X3) has a positive effect on the stability of Islamic banking by 42.58%. The findings of this study indicate that the three countries have an average Z-score value that is higher than 2.99, so this shows that Islamic banking in several ASEAN countries is in a stable condition. In addition, a higher GDP and a stronger exchange rate can also encourage a more stable Islamic banking.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.8
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• pp.47-56
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• 2021

ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was established in 2015 from 10 countries to realize the ultimate (adopted in 1997), which aimed to transform ASEAN into a stable, prosperous, and highly competitive region with equitable economic development, reduced poverty, and socioeconomic disparities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of knowledge level on the AEC of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the textile and apparel industry towards attitudes, readiness, and performance. This study uses convenience sampling to get questionnaires from 150 SMEs in Hanoi, Vietnam. Then, the paper applies SPSS-AMOS 24 to process data. The empirical results show that AEC's implementation only has a small impact on improving SME performance. However, SMEs have adequate knowledge, attitude, and readiness about AEC. The structural modeling findings indicate that the knowledge factor has an indirect effect on SMEs' performance. This finding is to provide new insight into the roles of attitude and readiness in the case of Vietnam. These factors are needed to mediate the effect of attitudes and readiness in the relationship between knowledge and business performance, a framework strategy of business organizations, and can be used as a conceptual model to improve SMEs' performance.

• Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2017

The aim of this study was to retrospectively estimate the prevalence of childhood emotional abuse (CEA), childhood physical abuse (CPA), and childhood contact sexual abuse (CCSA) in relation to adult poor mental health, addictive behavior, and other health-risk behaviors among university students in five ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam). In a cross-sectional survey, 3,240 undergraduate university students were randomly selected (M age = 20.5 years, SD = 1.6 years) to respond to a questionnaire including the Abuse section of the World Health Organization (WHO) Version 1 "Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire" (ACE-IQ) and other measures. The students reported 17.9% CEA, 28.2% CPA, and 22.4% CCSA, with the highest prevalence of CEA in Myanmar (30.9%) and CPA and CCSA in Vietnam (55.8% and 41.6%, respectively). In logistic regression models, adjusting for sociodemographic and social variables, the separate and cumulative effects of three types of child abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual) were found to increase the risks for poor adult mental health, addictive, and other health-risk behaviors.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.77-94
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• 2016

The paper examined Southeast Asia as a whole and focused on similarities among countries composing what is now known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In order to determine these similarities, the analysis focused on the fact that during World War II the whole of Southeast Asia was occupied by one political power: Japan. The policies the Japanese implemented in the region were to a degree very similar in terms of pressures and tensions that occurred in the different countries. The paper argues that these pressures and the responses of the various peoples of Southeast Asia instilled a nucleus of common identity in Southeast Asia as a whole. Basically, the policies that the Japanese implemented all over Southeast Asia were the following: the setting up regional administrations; the extraction of resources and emphasis on local self-sufficiency; the implementation of cultural Japanization; and local indigenization policies. The Southeast Asian responses that crystalized this joint Southeast Asian identity may be described as: accommodating and resisting the Japanese; commemorating portraying; and collectively remembering the era. The process of action and reaction between Japan and Southeast Asia was formative of this joint Southeast Asian identity.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.559-567
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the effect of complete coverage and content of available antenatal care (ANC) on the incidence of low birth weight (LBW) in 4 countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Methods: Measures of complete coverage and content of ANC services included the frequency of ANC visits and the seven service components (blood pressure measurement, iron supplementation, tetanus toxoid immunization, explanations of pregnancy complications, urine sample test, blood sample test, and weight measurement). The complete coverage and content of ANC services were assessed as high if more than 4 ANC visits and all seven components were delivered. Multivariable logistic regression with complex survey designs was conducted using Demographic Health Survey data from the 4 ASEAN countries in question from 2014 to 2017. Results: The proportion of LBW infants was higher in the Philippines (13.8%) than in Indonesia (6.7%), Cambodia (6.7%), or Myanmar (7.5%). Poor ANC services were associated with a 1.30 times higher incidence of LBW than a high level of complete coverage and content of ANC services (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 1.52). In addition, the risk of LBW was higher in the Philippines than in other countries (aOR, 2.25; 95% CI, 2.01 to 2.51) after adjusting for mothers' demographic/socioeconomic factors, health behaviors, and other factors. Conclusions: In sum, complete coverage and content of ANC services were significantly associated with the incidence of LBW in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Myanmar. The Philippines did not show statistically significant results for this relationship, but had a higher risk of LBW with poor ANC.