The Impact of ESG Practices on Sustainable Companies Performance in Indonesia

ESG practices aim to minimize a company's risks by caring about environmental, social, and governance aspects. Implementing ESG practices certainly has benefits for companies, namely improving the company's reputation. This research aims to measure the ESG practices of Indonesian companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. The research analysis uses the panel regression method. Previous researchers faced limitations in studying companies implementing ESG, leading to a limited number of analyzed companies. Therefore, using data obtained from Tobin's Q can distinguish this study. Based on the data processing results, environmental and ROA variables significantly positively impact the company's performance or reputation. However, social and governance variables do not influence the company's reputation, possibly due to various factors causing companies to focus less on the performance of these two variablesESG practices aim to minimize a company's risks by caring about environmental, social, and governance aspects. Implementing ESG practices certainly has benefits for companies, namely improving the company's reputation. This research aims to measure the ESG practices of Indonesian companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. The research analysis uses the panel regression method. Previous researchers faced limitations in studying companies implementing ESG, leading to a limited number of analyzed companies. Therefore, using data obtained from Tobin's Q can distinguish this study. Based on the data processing results, environmental and ROA variables significantly positively impact the company's performance or reputation. However, social and governance variables do not influence the company's reputation, possibly due to various factors causing companies to focus less on the performance of these two variable

The Impacts of Tax Revenue and Investment on the Economic Growth in Southeast Asian Countries

Research aims: This study focuses on the correlation between tax revenue, investment, and economic growth, taking into account the non-linear effects of tax revenue.Design/Methodology/Approach: Macro data of nine countries in ASEAN (including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) in 2000 - 2020 were extracted from the World Bank database. This research employed panel data estimations.Research findings: This study found statistical evidence of a negative effect of tax revenue on economic growth. However, when considering the non-linear effects of tax revenue, the empirical findings showed that higher tax revenue could reduce the disadvantages of tax impacts to boost economic growth. The negative effect of taxes is as obvious as the economic growth theories, but it depends on the taxation revenue. Lower tax revenue may encourage saving and investment, but it also leads to an increased government deficit, reducing economic growth through government debt, spending and investment. Moreover, this study provides consistent evidence of investment’s positive effect on economic growth in ASEAN countries during the research period.Theoretical contribution/Originality: The theoretical contribution provides evidence on the direct effect of tax revenue and investment on economic growth with a broader understanding of the tax’s non-linear effects and investment contributions in the ASEAN. The study confirms the vital role of government activity in regulating the development of the economy through taxation and investment. Practitioner/Policy implication: The severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased macroeconomic uncertainties, including uncertainty over savings, investment, and spending, potentially leading to tax revenue and investment losses. It, in turn, affects economic activities, so it requires careful consideration. Learned lessons from this study can prepare for future economic shocks and financial crises to reduce negative impacts on economic growth, including their adverse tax revenue effects.Research limitation: This study is limited by looking at the tax revenue ratio overview, which ignores the tax structure due to the lack of data collection. The following studies need to clarify the tax structure of ASEAN countries to determine which tax gives a negative impact/and which tax has a positive effect on economic growth

HOUSEHOLD POVERTY IN RURAL INDONESIA: A CASE STUDY OF SENUJUH VILLAGE, WEST KALIMANTAN

The purpose of this study was to describe household poverty in rural Indonesia by case study of one underdeveloped village in West Kalimantan Province. The study was conducted in Senujuh Village, Sejangkung Sub-district, Sambas Regency, West Kalimantan. There are 352 Households in Senujuh Village, with a sample of 80 poor households which find out based on the Simple Random Sampling from 105 household which listed as poor. The instrument of data collection used questionnaires and interviews. The study use Descriptive Statistics to describe the household poverty in rural area. The results showed that 53.8% head household had income between 25 – 50 USD per month per capita, 45% head household were not passed elementary school, 26.3% had 4 family members in one household, 41.3% had working days in between 11 – 15 days per month, 38.8% head household were 30 – 40 years old and 46.3% head household had loan in between 1 – 10 USD per month. Keywords: Household Poverty, Kalimantan, Rural Povert

Household Solar Photovoltaic Adoption in the Maldives: A Socioeconomic Perspective

Energy has become an essential part of our lives, but the current energy sources we used are depleting and non-renewable. In the case of Maldives, fuel energy is expensive due to importation and high transportation cost.  Besides, Atoll islands' characteristics require each island to have a power plant using fossil fuel, and the fuel storage availability is limited, making the electricity in these islands unstable and costly. Therefore, the need for cleaner and reliable resources for energy is essential in order to ensure a better future.  This study aimed to determine the factors influencing solar energy acceptance by inviting people to participate in the electronic survey in the Maldives, with 119 samples collected. The result revealed that most respondents were willing to go for a solar energy source for electrification due to the current high electricity bills. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the factors for the acceptance of solar energy. The result showed that people's attitudes and current electricity bills were significantly influential in solar energy acceptance. The presumptions for policymakers are to increase the people's knowledge and awareness to elevate a positive attitude and involve the private sector to increase competition and utility in the fiel

The Impact of Productive Zakat on the Income Inequality of Mustahiq in Yogyakarta

Inequality in income distribution is one of the economy problems that faced by most developing countries, including Indonesia. In order to reduce the income gap, Islam proposes instruments to solve this problem, such as Zakat. This is not only an obligation for the Muslim but it also has the goal of improving the economy conditions in society. There is the movement of wealth from high income society to low income society in zakat, so the income will not be concentrated in a certain society. Zakat distribution can support the achievement one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely goal 10, which is to reduce inequalities. This research aims to analyze the effect of productive zakat on reducing income inequality among mustahiq or zakat recipients. A survey employing a questionnaire was applied in this research to find the data from mustahiq population in Yogyakarta City. Lorenz curve, Gini ratio index and World Bank inequality criteria were applied to analyze the inequality of income distribution. This research found that distribution of productive zakat decreased the inequality of income among mustahiq as shown by the decreasing area in the Lorenz curve. In addition, the Gini ratio also fell from 0.37 to 0.30 which shows the decrease in income inequality among mustahiq. Finally, the proportion of income in 40% low income society increased from 16.83% to 21.04%

Level of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure and Financial Performance: A Case Study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Research aims: This study examines the influence of firm size, firm age, current ratio, and type of audit company on the corporate social responsibility disclosure level and its impact on the financial performance of listed enterprises in Vietnam.Design/Methodology/Approach: Financial data were collected from the annual reports of 109 enterprises listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, Vietnam, from 2016 to 2020. This research employed the Random Effects Model (REM), Fixed Effects Model (FEM), and Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) to deal with the drawbacks of the regression models, as mentioned.Research findings: The findings support the positive influence of firm size, firm age, and the type of auditing firm on the level of CSR information disclosure of listed manufacturing enterprises. Also, the extent of CSR disclosure positively affected financial performance, confirming the positive relationship between CSR disclosure level and financial performance.Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study contributes to governance theory by expanding and combining stakeholder and legitimacy theories with criteria for measuring the level of CSR disclosure in the Vietnamese context. Therefore, the study results are a valuable reference for theorists who tirelessly pursue the CSR topic.Practitioner/Policy implication: This study proposes recommendations for practitioners who should focus on enhancing the level of CSR disclosure to generate more benefits and result in better financial performance. Also, policy implications should be raising the senior managers’ awareness of the level of CSR disclosure, firm size, firm age, and type of audit and establishing a stable legal framework for the level of CSR disclosure in line with international standards and practices.Research limitation/Implication: The sample data were only collected from manufacturing companies listed on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, and the analyzed content and measurement of the level of CSR disclosure primely relied on the enterprises’ annual reports

Preparedness of Disaster Management of Landslides in the livelihoods of Kulon Progo district

A landslide is one of the natural disasters that frequently appear during the rainy season. Society has confronted this natural disaster, and it is important to decrease the vulnerable impact at the household level. Preparedness refers to the effort made to expand awareness and readiness for handling the dangers and preventative actions related to them. The aim of the paper is to analyze the correlations between livelihoods and preparedness stages in a landslide disaster area in Kulon Progo. The independent variables are defined as human-, social-, physical-, natural-, and financial capital and transformation in structure and process. Preparedness is the dependent variable. The Chi-squared analysis was applied to answer the objective. The unit analysis of this study is households, and we collected 300 households based on stratified random sampling at the research site. Kulon Progo has been chosen since the geographical pattern is hilly. Households appear to have the average level of disaster management preparedness (37.3%). Based on the strengthening of relations, the belief in keeping away from bad behavior based on ancestors’ advice has the highest CC to preparedness phase (0.396) with χ² 55.554**. It found that belief and religiosity levels have a strong contingency correlation among household capitals

Income Diversification and Financial Performance: The Mediating Effect of Banks’ Size, Ownership Structure, and the Financial Crisis in Vietnam

Research aims: This study focuses on the correlation between income diversification and financial performance, taking into account banks’ size, type of ownership, and the financial crisis.Design/Methodology/Approach: This study uses financial data of 29 commercial banks in Vietnam during the period from 2005 to 2018. This research employs a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) regression.Research findings: The results do not find statistical evidence of a direct effect of banks’ income diversification on their financial performance. However, when considering the classification factors, such as the bank’s size and ownership type, the findings show that big banks and state-owned banks could take advantage of diversification strategies to boost their profitability. Moreover, the study has proven that income diversification generates a significant positive effect on banks’ financial performance during the crisis time.Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study provides a theoretical evidence on the direct effect of income diversification on a bank’s financial performance concerning banks’ size, ownership type, and the financial crisis.Practitioner/Policy implication: Further, this research also offers the bank’s managers, policymakers, and investors an insight of good banks’ financial performance in the context of an unstable economy.Research limitation/Implication: The limitations still exist in this research, such as (1) the number of banks participating in the research sample was a predictable limitation; (2) this research mainly focused on financial variables but ignored the variables representing the managers’ behavior and the banks’ organizational structure; (3) the future studies can focus on these aspects to explore further the hidden picture of diversification strategy and banking performance

AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are built on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which consists of 17 goals as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The assessment of people’s awareness and knowledge on SDGs is of paramount importance to support any subsequent actions. The awareness of SDGs is higher compared to the previous agenda MDGs only in particular emerging countries; hence, it requires better progress after more than three years of its establishment. University students, as the agent of changes, are supposed to have a higher level of awareness and knowledge rather than average. When the university students have a better awareness and higher knowledge on SDGs, they can actively contribute to support, promote, and achieve the development goals by making use of their academic background. The objective of this research is to assess the level of awareness and knowledge on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among university students in Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Data for this research are collected by field Survey and Questionnaire. This research analyzes data by using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square. The results show 89.5% of students are aware and 62.5% of students have high knowledge about SDGs. We found that students’ knowledge is only affected by the accessibility of information and students’ awareness is related to not only accessibility of information but also gender. Both awareness and knowledge are not affected by students’ participation in the organization

Cultural Dimensions and Sustainable Stock Exchanges Returns in the Asian Region

Research aims: The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of four cultural dimensions such as power distance index (PDI), individualism (IDV), uncertainty avoidance index (UAI), and long-term orientation (LTO) on the sustainable investment return in Asian sustainable stock exchanges.Design/Methodology/Approach: Quantitative research method was applied for this research. Monthly sustainable stock indices from seven Asian countries for the period 2015-2019 were considered. This research employed the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression and Feasible Generalized Least Square (FGLS) regression with id and time fixed effect.Research findings: The outcomes of our empirical investigation underlined the fact that: (i) an increase in power distance (PDI) would increase the market returns in the Asian region; (ii) individualism (IDV) had a positive and significant impact on the market returns, and the increase of individualism in the Asian countries would lead to the higher sustainable stock returns; (iii) increase in the uncertainty of avoidance (UAI) by investors in the Asian region would lead to the higher stock returns; (iv) the long term orientation (LTO) had a significant and positive impact on market returns. It showed that if the investor had a long-term orientation on the sustainable stock exchange in the Asian region, it would lead to increased stock returns.Theoretical contribution/Originality: This research's theoretical contribution is to present the causal relations of cultural differences on the sustainable investment return in the Asian region.Practitioner/Policy implication: This research’s implication is to increase the concern of individual investors, portfolio managers, and investment companies regarding the cultural dimension effect on sustainable investment.Research limitation/Implication: The limitations still exist in this research, such as: (1) limited data for sustainable stock indices in the Asian region; (2) this research mainly focused on four cultural dimensions instead of six dimensions in Hofstede's model; (3) the future research should include the control variables and some other financial variables related with the sustainable investment