"I Am Not Going Back-lah": An Econometric Analysis of Post-Study Inclinations Among Malaysian Students In The United States

The research in this paper investigates the post-study inclinations of Malaysian students currently studying in the United States after they complete their desired level of education in the US by estimating a multinomial logistic regression. As in previous studies, students studying abroad are thought to be a source of brain drain among developing countries. In a survey conducted for this research, students were asked if they are inclined to return to Malaysia immediately, remain in the United States temporarily or remain in the United States permanently. It was found students who are scholars sponsored by scholarships from various institutions in Malaysia including the Malaysian government are more inclined to return to Malaysia immediately suggesting that such scholarship programs are viable policy tools to counter the brain drain phenomenon among Malaysian students studying abroad. Interestingly, it is also found that students who did not attend public national schools in Malaysia are more inclined to remain in the United States thus begging the question if the structure of Malaysia’s schooling system has an influence on Malaysia’s brain drain predicament. This finding though, would merit further research. It is also found that even after controlling for potential endogeneity, students who had internship experience in Malaysia are less inclined to remain in the United States. Lastly, through a series of different hypothetical scenarios, it is identified that students who desire to pursue an education level beyond a bachelor’s degree to be more inclined to remain in the US permanently if granted permanent residence.Bachelor of Art

Income Distribution And Changing Returns To Education Among Bumiputeras In Malaysia: A Quantile Regression Analysis

Using subsamples from the Malaysian Household Income Survey in 1995 and 2012, this paper investigates income inequality and returns to education in 1995 and 2012 among the Bumiputeras in Malaysia by calculating income inequality measures and by estimating Mincer wage equations using OLS and quantile regression techniques. The estimates of income inequality measures indicate that income inequality did not change from 1995 to 2012. It is also found that income inequality in urban areas was higher than in rural areas in both years. The findings from the estimates of Mincer wage equations are consistent with the human capital theory. Specifically, it is found that returns to education increase with the level of education in both years. In addition to that, the results indicate that returns to education diminish across the quantiles. In other words, Bumiputeras at the lower quantiles of the income distribution gain more from a given level of education as compared to those at the upper quantiles. These findings suggest that policies should be enacted to promote educational attainment among poorer Bumiputeras. This can perhaps be achieved via more comprehensive needs-based affirmative action policies targeted to this group of Bumiputeras. Extension of governmental scholarships for tertiary education to poorer Bumiputeras can be one example. Similar approaches can also be used to promote admissions of poorer Bumiputeras into public universities.Bachelor of Art

A stitch in time: The importance of water and sanitation services (WSS) infrastructure maintenance for cholera risk. A geospatial analysis in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Understanding the factors associated with cholera outbreaks is an integral part of designing better approaches to mitigate their impact. Using a rich set of georeferenced case data from the cholera epidemic that occurred in Harare from September 2018 to January 2019, we apply spatio-temporal modelling to better understand how the outbreak unfolded and the factors associated with higher risk of being a reported case. Using Call Detail Records (CDR) to estimate weekly population movement of the community throughout the city, results suggest that broader human movement (not limited to infected agents) helps to explain some of the spatio-temporal patterns of cases observed. In addition, results highlight a number of socio-demographic risk factors and suggest that there is a relationship between cholera risk and water infrastructure. The analysis shows that populations living close to the sewer network, with high access to piped water are associated with at higher risk. One possible explanation for this observation is that sewer bursts led to the contamination of the piped water network. This could have turned access to piped water, usually assumed to be associated with reduced cholera risk, into a risk factor itself. Such events highlight the importance of maintenance in the provision of SDG improved water and sanitation infrastructure