Mohammad Zainuddin, Masnun Mahi, Shabiha Akter and Ida Md. Yasin
This study investigates the role of national culture between outreach and sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Despite microfinance's deep embeddedness in cultural…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the role of national culture between outreach and sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs). Despite microfinance's deep embeddedness in cultural contexts, research on the influence of national culture on MFI performance is rather sparse. This paper seeks to fill this gap and, based on cross-country microfinance data, attempts to explain the outreach-sustainability relationship in reference to cultural factors.
Design/methodology/approach
An unbalanced panel, consisting of 5,741 MFI-year observations of 1,232 MFIs from 43 countries in six regions, is drawn from the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Market database. Two different econometric models are tested. Model 1 estimates the direct effect of outreach on sustainability, using a fixed-effects estimator. Model 2 examines the moderation effect of national culture on outreach-sustainability relationship, employing correlated random effects approach.
Findings
The results show that depth of outreach and financial sustainability of MFIs are negatively related, and the relationship is moderated by national culture. Power distance and uncertainty avoidance positively moderate the outreach-sustainability relationship, whereas individualism and masculinity negatively moderate the relationship.
Originality/value
The findings suggest that the national culture where MFIs are located plays an important contingent role in their performance and that the magnitude of the trade-off effect varies from culture to culture. The research thus provides further insight in the trade-off debate and contributes to literatures of both microfinance and cross-cultural management.
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Md. Reaz, Dorothea Bowyer, Connie Vitale, Masnun Mahi and Ahmed Mohamed Dahir
The paper examines the nexus between agricultural exports and the performance of agricultural firms in Malaysia.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper examines the nexus between agricultural exports and the performance of agricultural firms in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
The dynamic linkage is tested by using system GMM models and the period ranges from 2002 to 2016.
Findings
The results indicate that agricultural exports affect performance positively. However, agricultural raw materials have no significant impact on performance.
Research limitations/implications
The agricultural exports in relation to sectoral performance needs to be considered in the future.
Practical implications
The findings are important for policymakers to formulate policies that promote the agricultural sector. To put it differently, the policies may encourage investments in this sector. Also, the findings have substantial academic implications, bridging the gap between theory and empirical literature in the agricultural sector.
Originality/value
This work highlights the agricultural exports and their impacts on a firm's performance.
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Nusrat Jafrin, Masnun Mahi, Muhammad Mehedi Masud and Deboshree Ghosh
The study attempts to establish the relationship between demographic dividend and GDP growth rate by utilising panel data from 1990 to 2017 in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal…
Abstract
Purpose
The study attempts to establish the relationship between demographic dividend and GDP growth rate by utilising panel data from 1990 to 2017 in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs the pooled OLS model, using data from the World Bank's database for the period 1990–2017 for five selected South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
Findings
The results reveal that demographic dividend affects economic growth in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, thereby supporting the demographic dividend hypothesis. For the country-specific analysis, it was also observed that demographic dividend impacts the economic growth of the five SAARC countries. In addition, growth of gross capital formation is highly significant for both aggregated and country-specific analyses. However, economic growth is unaffected by trade openness and unemployment rates. Moreover, the rate of labour force participation is negatively related to the GDP growth rate in the aggregated model.
Originality/value
This paper bestows insight into the fact that the impact of demographic dividend on the economic growth of the SAARC regions cannot be fully actualised if the workforce are underutilised. This region needs to adopt appropriate policies to strengthen the considerable benefits of demographic dividend on the economic growth.