The Role of Macroeconomic Fundamentals in Malaysian Post Recession Growth

This study aims to find out the role of macroeconomic fundamentals in Malaysian post recession growth. The selected macroeconomic variables are exports, imports, price level, money supply, interest rate, exchange rate and government expenditure. The technique of cointegration was employed to assess the long run equilibrium relationships among the variables. Then, this study performs the Granger causality tests based on VECM to establish the short run causality among the variables. The long-run cointegrating relationship shown that an increase in exports, government expenditure or depreciation of exchange rate will promote long-term economic growth while increase in inflation, interest rate and imports will tamper the Malaysian economic growth. The results of short-run Granger-causality indicated that price level and government spending Granger-caused economic growth in the short-run. In conclusion, based on the results of long-run and short run analysis, the fiscal policy is probably the most appropriate tool in promoting economic growth in Malaysia during the post recession period

The relationship between commercial banks' interest rates and loan sizes: evidence from a small open economy

Traditional finance theory argues that as the size of a loan expands, the interest rate on that loan rises to accommodate the increased risk associated with the loan. However, utilizing firm-level data of the Barbadian banking industry, it is observed that the smaller the loan's size, the greater the interest rate applied, and vice versa. Using a fixed effect panel data framework, this article also shows that the interest rate differences among loan sizes can be mainly explained by the borrower's characteristics for local banks while for foreign banks, its operating characteristics were the most important factors.

Grit, motivational belief, self-regulated learning (SRL), and academic achievement of civil engineering students

The influence of grit on engineering student’s achievement has been understudied. The association between grit, self-regulated learning (SRL), and academic achievement in civil engineering students was investigated using correlation and regression analysis. One hundred and one civil engineering students from various nationalities completed a self-report questionnaire that contained the Grit 12-item scale and the forty-four questions on motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning practices (MSLQ). Four of the five SRL variables were predicted by perseverance of effort: intrinsic value, self-efficacy, cognitive strategy use, and self-regulation. Initially, perseverance of effort predicted the current grade point average (GPA), but it was no longer a predictor after including SRL indicators. Consistency of interest was a predictor of cognitive strategy usage, but it did not affect students’ academic achievement. GPAs were also predicted by student self-efficacy and age. The connection between academic accomplishment and grit is mediated by SRL engagement. Students’ perceived competency and confidence in completing their degree were shown to be major determinants of their GPA. Furthermore, motivational beliefs had a greater effect on students’ GPAs than grit did. In the majority of the study’s constructs, female students outperformed males. GPAs were higher among younger students than among their older peers

Price rigidity: a survey of evidence from micro-level data

Over the last decade or more micro price studies have proliferated. In this paper a survey of this literature reveals alternative theoretical explanations of sticky prices: (a) sellers review and change prices only at predetermined intervals (except under extraordinary circumstances), so that any price reaction appears only when that time arrives (referred to as “time dependent pricing”); or (b) prices are always reviewed after a shock or policy move (“state dependent pricing”), but may be altered only if the difference between the actual and the new target price is sufficient to warrant an adjustment. The empirical evidence is that prices take longer to change in developed countries than in developing economies. In addition, the frequency of price movements differs widely across goods and the timing of price changes is not synchronized across sellers

The behaviour of a small foreign exchange market with a long-term peg-Barbados

This article is a first analysis of daily transactions in the foreign exchange market of Barbados, a small open economy that has had an unchanged peg to the US dollar for over 30 years. As a result of the credibility of the peg, we expect that capital flows will respond to differentials between US and comparable Barbadian interest rates, and that this will result in uncovered interest parity, when allowance is made for market frictions and large discrete events. The tests appear to confirm this.