INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ECONOMICS最新文献

Purpose

This study explores the determinants of financial well-being (FW) among emerging adults and investigates the moderating role of financial risk tolerance in the relationship between financial capability and financial behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 257 useable data were collected from federal and private university students, representing Emirati emerging adults aged 18 to 29. The analysis employed a structural equation model through AMOS 17.0.

Findings

Structural modeling results show that gender, monthly expenses, financial literacy and financial socialization influence financial capability and financial capability impacts both financial behavior and FW. Financial risk tolerance moderates the relationship between financial capability and financial behavior.

Practical implications

This study offers insights useful for policymakers, industry players and educators seeking to address financial literacy, financial capability and financial behavior to enhance the FW of emerging adults.

Originality/value

The study sheds light on the intricate yet comprehensive FW model of emerging adults in a non-Western context. The study also offers a new, more complex view of the function of financial literacy and financial socialization in financial capability. Combining family financial socialization and risk-return theories in an organic viewpoint allows for a more in-depth examination of a critical distinction between the role of literacy and socialization in shaping attitude and behavior and its function as a platform for financial discourse, which can inform how educational efforts and social platforms can be leveraged to improve financial acumen and FW.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2023-0668

Purpose

In this study, we attempt to investigate and examine the correlations among enterprise culture (EC), business ethic rules (BERs) and talented human resource supply chain management (THRSCM) in service SMEs in the Middle East region.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is quantitative in nature and adopts the quantitative-deductive hypothesis testing approach. To do this, a self-administrated survey was used and carried out to reach managers, human resource (HR) staff and workers from various small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the service sector that are listed in the Chambers of the Industries of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in the Middle Eastern countries.

Findings

The empirical findings show that THRSCM and the BERs have a strong, positive correlation. Further, it found that there is also a strong and positive correlation between the EC and the BERs. As a result, THRSCM and EC can be extremely important in advancing and implementing BERs in SME service businesses. HR staff members should receive greater attention when implementing the BERs to accomplish the company’s goals and give customers a positive image of their enterprises. The HRM division and the company must be deeply aware of the significance of the BERs in their enterprises.

Practical implications

These findings can give managers, executives and HR staff helpful information to support the creation and upkeep of efficient business ethics rules inside their service SMEs.

Originality/value

Because there is not much study on the relationships between THRSCM, EC and BERs in the Middle East, this article attempts to investigate these relationships and consider them a benchmark for other future studies in ethics. Furthermore, it significantly influences service SMEs in the Middle East region.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2023-0763.

Purpose

The paper looks at the impact of excess amount of CSR expenditure (CSRE) in relation to mandatory CSRE in an Indian context on dividend payout (DP) and firm value (FV) where CSRE is mandatory, as well as how this relationship varies between firms based on their age and size.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of the 657 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) from 2014–15 to 2020–21 is used in the study, for which spending on CSR was mandatory. A two-step generalised method of the moment is employed to examine the relationship between the variables of interest.

Findings

The results show that excess CSREs neither increase the firm’s valuation nor benefit shareholders' economic benefits, i.e. dividend distribution. However, a deeper analysis reveals that excess CSRE is positively associated with FV in the case of smaller firms and also positively corresponds with DP in the case of younger firms.

Originality/value

The present study explicitly considers the excess CSR spending beyond the mandated requirements. It investigates whether such spending contributes to firms improving their valuation and explores its connection to DPs.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2024-0136

Purpose

This paper examines the determinants of children’s schooling under imperfect credit market conditions in Cameroon, with a particular focus on the role of monetary and non-monetary shocks.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses microeconomic data from the fourth Cameroonian Household Survey (ECAM IV) conducted in 2014 by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and an instrumental variable Probit model to demonstrate its point.

Findings

The results show that uncertainty about household income as measured by transitory income and declining household income decreases the probability of children attending school in Cameroon. The same is true for increasing household size. Nevertheless, access to the credit market is a factor in household resilience to shocks.

Originality/value

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the identification of the determinants of children’s schooling in Cameroon in a situation of credit market imperfection. The aim is to examine the influence of different household vulnerability factors and not only income shocks, which have long been considered the dominant factor.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2024-0028

Purpose

The goal of this study is to predict the farmers’ concerns about agricultural index-insurance (AII) for weather risk mitigation of horticultural crops in hilly regions. The key impetus of analysis is to prioritize the AII requirements based on the farmers’ perspectives using the requirements prioritization approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The integrated approach has been applied in this paper. Initially, the MoSCoW prioritization technique has been employed to prioritize the AII attributes utilizing a four-dimensional agriculture insurance scale. Later, the rank sum weighting method was deployed to assign the ultimate rank to AII attributes based on the farmers’ responses.

Findings

Findings specified that out of 15 AII attributes, majority of 11 attributes were placed in “must have” and “should have” categories that related to claim, design, premium and grievance management dimensions. However, three AII attributes are placed in the “could have” category. Additionally, findings of rank-sum weighting method-based ranking can help insurers in redesigning farmers-oriented AII services for risk mitigation of horticulture crops by incorporating these ranks as per their priority level.

Research limitations/implications

The prioritized AII attributes are helpful for insurers and managers in order to solve the problems associated with design, premium, claim and grievance management of AII.

Social implications

Findings deliver significant insights to insurers to incorporate the prioritized AII attributes ranked by farmers.

Originality/value

This is the initial known analysis that integrated the MoSCoW and rank sum weighting method to prioritize the AII requirements prioritization among Indian farmers.

Purpose

Despite India achieving many milestones under MGNREGA, the external and internal shocks result in below potential outcomes in employment demand and generation. This study examines how these shocks matter and how the migration-prone regions perform.

Design/methodology/approach

This study, employing district-level data from 2018 to 2021, investigates how climate change and COVID-19 have affected the employment demand and supply. We applied RE-GLS and IV-2SLS regressions to examine the effects of shocks on employment demand and generation, respectively. The difference in difference panel model is employed to test the spatial effects of the pandemic. Further, we used RE-GLS and extended regression model to examine how external shocks interacting with migration affect unemployment rates.

Findings

It was found that the pandemic increased employment demand and generation. This reflects the adverse effects of the pandemic and the swift action by the government. However, the responses were possibly different during climate shocks. The wage differential increased employment demand. However, demand decreased due to poor support from the support staff. The employment generation was higher in migration-prone districts, indicating that seasonal migration, being a lean-season phenomenon, continues to occur despite employment generation.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature in several ways. It captures spatial variations while examining the impact of climate change and COVID-19. It investigates the performance of MGNREGA in migration-prone areas. In effect, the findings provide policymakers with greater insight into the issues.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2024-0132.

Purpose

Evidence for the availability and utilisation of family-friendly work conditions (FFWCs) in Malaysia has not been comprehensively reviewed. Whether persistent inequities are due to poor employer provision of work conditions or low employee uptake remains unknown. This scoping review to assess the scope of available evidence for availability and utilisation of specific FFWCs among women in Malaysia, and synthesise reported findings.

Design/methodology/approach

This scoping review used Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and twenty-two articles were reviewed.

Findings

Flexible work hours, telecommuting/work from home, staggered work hours, childcare centres proximal to workplaces, and childcare subsidies were reported as most commonly available work conditions. Available leave varied across organisations and sectors in provision of payment and duration. Flexible work hours, leave, and childcare centres proximal to workplaces were the conditions most used by employees. However, the validity of observed availability and utilisation of work conditions in Malaysia is questionable, due to inconsistencies in the specificity and range of work conditions assessed and heterogeneity of samples.

Practical implications

National monitoring of the accessibility and uptake of FFWCs is required to guide investment decisions about family-friendly policy initiatives to effectively advance gender equity in the Malaysian labour force.

Originality/value

This scoping review provides the first comprehensive synthesis and summary of the availability and utilisation of FFWCs in Malaysia.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2024-0103

Purpose

Little is known about the quantitative impact of macro policies on disaggregated variables. This study investigates the effects of macroeconomic policies and cost/supply shocks on sectoral output growth.

Design/methodology/approach

We analyzed empirical evidence from Ghana using a Structural Vector Autoregression approach.

Findings

The results show that the transmission of various macro policies and supply/cost shocks is conditional on sectoral idiosyncrasies. Fiscal programs contribute the most to agricultural output growth and the least to industrial production. The downturn from rising costs and supply disruptions is more severe and lasting in the agriculture sector than in the service sector. The evidence shows that fiscal consolidation centered on government consumption cuts would not drag growth over the medium-term.

Practical implications

Our results show that the structural characteristics of a country may play an important role in understanding the output effects of macro policy changes. The empirical evidence shows that targeted policies are needed to complement countercyclical macroeconomic policies to facilitate broad-based economic recovery.

Originality/value

Research on the impact of macro policy shocks on the real economy has usually focused on the behavior of highly aggregated variables. In this research, we focus on disaggregated, sector-level variables to unveil the idiosyncrasies in the performance of disaggregated variables that are usually concealed when studying the behavior of aggregate variables. This study also contributes a different angle to the debate on supply shocks by examining how cost shocks are propagated through the various sectors of the economy.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2023-0876

Purpose

Evidence shows that African countries are confronted with high levels of income inequality. Therefore, it is relevant to approach and analyze the factors contributing to these severe inequality cases. This paper addresses the issue by focusing on the role of financial regulation and military spending.

Design/methodology/approach

We used a sample of 30 African countries and a recent period (2009–2020), employing various instrumental variable estimation techniques to control for endogeneity.

Findings

The results confirm that economic growth aggravates income inequality due to high corruption and political instability. Results confirm that the increase in military spending increases inequality and that financial regulation weakens financial inclusion and also increases income inequality.

Research limitations/implications

The study shows the need for greater control of corruption and the promotion of political stability so that economic growth and financial inclusion can effectively reduce income inequality, as well as the need for a better balance in the drafting of financial regulations and the preparation of military expenditure to safeguard other policy objectives.

Originality/value

The present study contributes to scarce financial, economic, and social literature considering the role of financial regulation and military spending in the persistence of income inequality in African countries. Previous studies disregarded this fact.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2023-0287

Purpose

The objective of the research is threefold. First, the study examines the fiscal policy – income inequality nexus in SA. Second, the study addressed the potential asymmetric effects in fiscal policy – income inequality nexus in SA (i.e. we assessed the effects of fiscal policy on income inequality at different quantiles of the income inequality) using secondary data from 1980–2020. Third, the study also identifies the optimal fiscal policy instrument that achieve the greatest distributional objectives.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts the traditional ordinary least square (OLS) and the innovative Quantile estimation techniques.

Findings

The study found that fiscal policy marginally reduces the income inequality at the lower quantiles (t: 0.05). Specifically, the results show that government spending on health and education reduces income inequality at the lower quantiles (t: 0.05; t: 0.25), albeit exerts a statistically weak impact. On the other hand, the results show that at the upper quantiles, fiscal policy has no statistically significant impact on income inequality. However, we do not find either direct or indirect tax to have any impact on income inequality at any conventional level of significance. This suggests that government spending on health and education have the greater potential to reduce income inequality in South Africa. The research and policy implications are discussed.

Originality/value

The study addressed the asymmetric phenomenon in income inequality-fiscal policy nexus in South Africa.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2023-0956