Dynamics of Push and Pull Factors of Migrant Workers in Developing Countries: The Case of Indonesian Workers in Malaysia

Low income and high unemployment in labour sending countries and high income and low unemployment in labour receiving countries are frequently justified as push and pull factors of migrant workers, respectively. Indonesia is the main labour-exporting country to Malaysia but the studies on the push factors in Indonesia and the pull factors in Malaysia are very limited. This paper has three objectives. The first objective is to examine the long-run relationship among income and unemployment in Indonesia and Malaysia and the Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. This is followed by examining the causality between the variables in the second objective, and the extent to which income and unemployment in Indonesia and Malaysia determine the Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia in the third objective. Time series data were employed and analysed by utilizing the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) framework. The findings show a long-run relationship among income and unemployment in Indonesia and Malaysia and the Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. Only unidirectional causality is found in the long-run, which is from income and unemployment in Indonesia and Malaysia to Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. The findings also show that the Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia are significantly determined by income and unemployment, positively in the case of Indonesia, and negatively, in Malaysia

Socio-economic factors and contraceptive use in West Kalimantan

Very few studies about family planning have been carried out in West Kalimantan. The studies which have been conducted are mostly concerned with the Chinese, one of the major ethnic groups in this province. This might be because West Kalimantan is one province of Indonesia which has a high proportion of Chinese, and the Chinese group is still regarded as a sensitive issue in Indonesia. This study uses 1980 census data to analyse socio-economic variables including ethnicity in terms of their relationship with contraceptive use. The findings indicate a conventional relationship between the socio-economic factors - place of residence, education, occupation and living standard - and contraceptive use: the better the socio-economic conditions of the women, the higher the contraceptive use. The findings also suggest that the Government should consider a special approach to the Chinese community, since their level of contraceptive use is low compared with the other ethnic groups. Detailed discussions of the extent of the program implementation and its challenges show that the program in West Kalimantan is still based more on the clinic approach than the community approach. This might have led to the relatively low contraceptive prevalence in West Kalimantan and the concentration of contraceptive use among the women with better socio-economic conditions evident in 1980

Effect of healthcare workers’ personalities on health service quality: A case study of hospitals on the Malaysia-Indonesia border

The personality of healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and any employee who directly provide supportive services to a patient, is vital in health service quality, contributing to the hospital’s brand image. Malaysia has successfully built that brand image attracting many Indonesians to have health treatment in this country. This study aims to examine the effect of healthcare workers’ personalities on health service quality at Malaysian hospitals. The study adopted the Big Five Traits and SERVQUAL models to measure healthcare workers’ personalities and health service quality. One hundred respondents from the families in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, who had health treatment in Malaysia, were selected to respond to the statements based on a Likert scale. The regression model was employed in data analysis in which the healthcare worker’s personality was an independent variable, and health service quality was a dependent variable. The regression test results show that agreeableness and emotional stability positively and significantly influenced health service quality at the 5% level, with each coefficient of 0.332 and 0.701. Due to less varied responses, conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness to experience did not significantly influence health service quality. That was supported by the high average index of health workers’ personalities (4.14) and hospital services (4.27), indicating that the respondents agreed with healthcare workers’ excellent personalities and health service quality in Malaysia. Each indicator in healthcare workers’ personalities also significantly correlated with each indicator in health service quality. Acknowledgment The authors thank the Faculty of Economics and Business, Tanjungpura University, for funding this study

Construction of an Optimum Currency Area Index Anchored to the Gold Dinar: The Case of Selected Islamic Countries

This paper constructs an Optimum Currency Area (OCA) Index by using the gold price as a nominal anchor and substitute for the US Dollar. The use of gold Dinar is in line with the spirit for implementing Sunnah money (gold Dinar). The method used for estimating the OCA-gold Index is the standard deviation of gold price variability. The five Islamic countries selected as the units of observation are listed among the top ten gold consumer countries worldwide. The findings of this paper may help us to understand how powerful gold can be as a benchmark or convergence criterion for a cycle co-movement measure of symmetry shock within the Islamic nations in comparison to the US Dollar. As most of the OCA's conventional index have adopted fiat money (Dollar and Euro) as an anchor, this study offers an alternative model that employs the use of commodity money as the benchmark.  Keywords: Optimum Currency Area, Gold Dinar, Islamic Nation, Anchor Currency JEL Classifications: E42, F36, F3

Does Trade With Labour Sending Countries Reduce Demand For Migrant Workers: A Lesson From Malaysia

This paper has three objectives. The first objective is to examine the long-run relationships among exports, imports, income and demand for migrant workers. This is followed by a causality test between these variables as the second objective. Finally, the third objective is to examine the extent to which exports, imports and income affect the demand for migrant workers. The study utilizes time series data and a Vector Auto Regressive (VAR) framework while examining two models, namely, Malaysia and Malaysia-Indonesia (Malindo). The findings show that all variables in the models are cointegrated. Generally, there is no short-run causality between variables in the models. In the long-run, causality runs from exports, imports and income to demand for migrant workers for the Malaysia model. There is bi-directional causality in the long-run between exports and imports, respectively, and demand for migrant workers in the Malindo model. Exports and demand for migrant workers in the Malaysia model, and exports and imports, respectively, and demand for migrant workers from Indonesia in the Malindo model are substitutes. Moreover, the income per capita for Malaysia has a non-significant negative effect on the demand for total migrant workers and a significant positive effect on the demand for migrant workers from Indonesia. The study suggests that trade can be a necessary instrument, but not a sufficient instrument for reducing the demand for migrant workers

Assessing the Factors that Influence Entrepreneurship in Nigeria

The purpose of the paper is to examine factors influencing entrepreneurship both at individual and aggregate level. The approach for data collection has been broken down in two in order to address the differences in using different levels of analysis. At the individual level, survey has been used to collect data. Ordinary lease square method was employed in estimating the coefficients of the variables in the model. While at the aggregate level, time series data were collected from various official sources. Vector autoregressive (VAR) framework was adopted to systematically capture the rich dynamic in multiple time series. Start-up capital and gender were found to be statistically significant in influencing entrepreneurship at individual level. It is also evident that most of the entrepreneurs are driven by opportunity to start up business. The result at the aggregate level shows that there is long run relationship among the variables. The positive influence of unemployment on entrepreneurship is an indication of the presence of necessity entrepreneurship. Poverty and economic growth influenced entrepreneurship negatively. Therefore, the paper reveals the presence of both necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship in the country. There is paucity of studies on this area that integrate individual and aggregate level. Therefore, the paper attempts to fill this research gap and to provide holistic information on entrepreneurship in Nigeria context

An Exploratory Study on the Constraints for Entrepreneurial Activity: A Case of Micro and Small Enterprises in Kano, Nigeria

This paper explores the challenges confronting Nigerians, particularly women in entrepreneurial activity. The paper uses a qualitative approach to obtain the necessary information from micro and small entrepreneurs. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data from 25 key informants who own micro and small enterprises that have been in operation for at least five years. The ualitative data was transcribed and presented in a narrative manner. The paper found liquidity constraints to be the most serious problem as most of the entrepreneurs cannot access microfinance from government agencies or microfinance institutions. It is also discovered that the participation of women in entrepreneurship is lower in comparison to their male counterparts. The existing microfinance policy should be revisited to ascertain loopholes that render the policy less effective. Close supervision of the microfinance institutions is needed to ensure compliance to ethical standards and practices in the issuance of credit and loans. To make more generalizable conclusions, similar studies are needed in Nigerian states where the participation of women is low

Informal agricultural trade and trans-border farmers between Malaysia and Indonesia

Agricultural products are important commodities in the informal trade between countries in developing areas. However, previous studies on this issue tended to concentrate on countries in Africa and trade through official border posts. For years, Indonesian farmers have been selling vegetables to Malaysia via unofficial border posts. The Indonesians tend to view selling products in Malaysia as profitable because of the higher price of the product compared to that in Indonesia. The picture is not entirely true since the farmers are only price takers. Three objectives are proposed in this study. The first objective is to explore the supply, demand and price of vegetables in Cross-Border Informal Trade (CBIT), followed by an estimate of the value of CBIT as the second objective. The last objective is to examine the effect on the vegetable supply of price, number of days trading across the border and the experience as a cross-border trader. The study was conducted at Serikin village, Bau District, Sarawak Malaysia, which shares a common border with Jagoi village, Bengkayang district, West Kalimantan Indonesia. The primary data were obtained by survey using a structured questionnaire while qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews and observation. A total of 62 trans-border farmers were successfully interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The first and second objectives are answered by exploring data obtained from the structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews and observation. The third objective is met based on data obtained through a structured questionnaire, which was analyzed by employing multiple regression. The study shows the weak bargaining position of the Indonesian trans-border farmers in Sarawak and an oversupply of vegetables depressing the price of the vegetables. At least 30 types of vegetable are imported informally from West Kalimantan to Sarawak, weighing a total of 18 ton, and with a total value of MYR 42,000 per day. The number of day trades across the border per week influences the vegetable supply positively and significantly. Close location, lack of accessibility to the domestic market and high profit seem to be the most important factors in motivating the Indonesian farmers to trade informally in Sarawak, rather than the price of the vegetables and experience as cross-border informal traders. The Indonesian authorities may reduce the vegetable supply to Sarawak by extending the internal market and developing an agro-tourism industry in West Kalimantan. The Malaysian and Indonesian authorities may formalize the status of the Jagoi-Serikin border post enabling them to monitor the cross-border trade between the two countries

UNEMPLOYMENT, POVERTY AND INDONESIAN OVERSEAS WORKERS

Indonesia faces unemployment and poverty problems which may cause this country as one of the main countries in Asia to send international migrant workers. The main objective of this paper is to examine whether unemployment and poverty determine Indonesian Overseas Workers (IOWs). The study uses secondary data and the data are analysed by utilizing a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) framework. The findings show that unemployment has a significant negative effect on the IOWs while poverty has a significant positive effect. The unemployed youth in Indonesia mainly have higher education and are not poor which are least likely to migrate while poor people migrate for survival. Hence, freeze on sending the IOWs may not be effective since the poor people will keep working overseas by being illegal workers