International Journal of Social Sciences and Sustainability

Impact of Foreign Direct Investment, Tourism and Industrialization on Ecological Footprints in Southeast Asian Countries

Junrong Li — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines the impact of foreign direct investment, tourism and industrialization on environmental degradation in Southeast Asian countries. For this purpose, a panel data from 1995-2020 is used for seven countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. A fixed effect model is applied and results indicate that increasing tourism and industrialization raise ecological footprints and thus deteriorate the environment. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has a negative and significant effect on ecological footprints and helps to improve environmental sustainability. Further, the present study uses GDP per capita and results indicate that increasing income exacerbates the environment. Thus, this study recommends that these countries should attract more FDI to decrease ecological footprints.

Corruption and Economic Development: A Comparative Analysis with Evidence from the Extended Solow Growth Model

Ramisha Aqeel, Muhammad Maaz Zahid, Marium Ejaz — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The impact of corruption on economic development diverges on two paths: whether it boosts the economy or acts as a hindrance to economic growth. This study is an effort to determine which of these paths corruption follows in both OECD and emerging Asian economies by using panel data from 1996-2020 for a total of 45 countries. In addition, it analyzes the impact of human capital and economic globalization on the economic growth of these countries. In this study, an extended Solow Growth Model is estimated by using the panel ARDL approach. The results indicate that corruption has a negative while human capital positively impacts economic growth in both regions. However, in the case of economic globalization, the impact is positive in OECD countries and proves insignificant for emerging Asian economies. These findings confirm that corruption acts as an obstacle to economic development; thus, this study suggests a need to enhance education and health, especially for emerging Asian economies.

The Threshold Effect of Inflation on Growth Performance in South Asian Economies

Qaiser Jamal Mahsud, Khola Aarif, Arbab Khan — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

One of the broad goals of policymakers is to achieve rapid and sustainable economic growth. Despite the fact that the determinants of economic growth are a long list of factors, the focus of this study is on the role of inflation in the growth process. Macroeconomic policy's objective is to achieve higher growth rates while maintaining low inflation. The relationship between these two macroeconomic variables prompts us to consider the optimal inflation rate that has a promoting (or detrimental) effect on economic growth. The current study examines the existence of a threshold effect in the relationship between inflation and economic growth in a sample of South Asian economies from 1980 to 2017. The empirical findings indicate that the relationship between inflation and economic growth in Asian economies is non-linear. The study's findings also indicate that there is a structural break in the relationship between inflation and economic growth at 6% inflation. The inflation rates higher than the threshold level (6 percent) impede the growth process. It is recommended that South Asian economies should formulate policies aimed at containing and stabilizing inflation in order to stimulate economic growth.

Governance in Provision of Public Services and Standards of Living in Pakistan

Mumtaz Ahmad, Imtiaz Ahmad — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this study we analyze the differences in state of governance in provision of public services in rural and urban areas and its impact on the perception about the standards of living in Pakistan. The study is based on nationally representative survey conducted in 2013 at the end of five years tenure of a democratically elected government. The results of the generalized ordered logit model and ordered logit model shows that in rural areas the owner ship of productive assets matter more than monthly consumption expenditure while with usage of most of the public services, except rural health units, courts and Banzir Income Support Program (BISP), there is higher likelihood of deterioration in standards of living. Contrary to rural areas, in urban areas, higher monthly consumption expenditures increase the likelihood of rise in living standards, while, ownership of assets do not. As in case of rural areas, most of the public services have negative impact on the perception about standards of living except NADRA and courts.

Students’ Perception, Attitude, and Behavior Towards Sustainability

Danyal Khattak, Waqas Masood, Salman Iftikhar — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This paper is a quantitative analysis of how perceptions and attitudes of university students studying in Islamabad, Pakistan, affect their behaviors towards sustainability and concepts related to sustainability. The research was conducted via a primary-level survey conducted among different departments at the National University of Sciences and Technology. The sample analyzed consisted primarily of undergraduate and postgraduate students from the university's plethora of disciplines. The Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) model is used to establish the relationship between perceptions, attitudes, and practices. From the questionnaire, different groups of questions were taken and aggregated to create an index for sustainability. The overall sustainability index is developed by aggregating the questions about sustainability domains. The findings show that sustainability is affected by whether or not the respondent has or has not taken up an environment-related course in the past. Thus this study recommends that Government should encourage the participation and involvement of youth in the designing and implementation of sustainable environmental policies.