Md W Murad | University of South Australia (original) (raw)

Conference Proceedings by Md W Murad

The Daily Independent, Oct 29, 2011

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Developing competitive strategy is a process directed by top management to determine the fundamen... more Developing competitive strategy is a process directed by top management to determine the fundamental aims or goals of an organization, and ensure a range of decisions which will allow for the achievement of those aims or goals in the long-term whilst providing for adaptive responses in the short-term. Drawing upon management literature, this study explores the competitive strategies that are used by Shared Ownership (SO) Housing Associations (HAs) in the United Kingdom (UK). HAs in the UK are not owned by the government but are registered not for profit organisations (National Housing Federation UK, 2012). This study explores the shared ownership scheme, where the purchaser can buy between 25% to 75% of the total value of the property (depending on the affordability), for which a mortgage should be obtained. For the remainder, a subsidised rent will be levied. This scheme is intended for people who cannot afford to buy a suitable home in any other way and the priority is generally given to existing public sector tenants and those on local authority or HA waiting lists.Using a survey method, this study suggests that HAs can follow a mixed strategy (cost leadership and differentiation) which will address cost advantages as part of their cost leadership strategy, while at the same time address their positioning by communicating the uniqueness of their offering as part of their differentiation strategy. Hence, cost leadership strategy can be targeted to low income earners through one brand offering, while simultaneously offering an additional brand offering using a differentiation strategy.

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Tourism, a key economic activity, which significantly contributes to the regional economic develo... more Tourism, a key economic activity, which significantly contributes to the regional economic development of Southeast Asian economies, has been assessed in this paper in realizing the progress made by this industry. The economic impacts of tourism are felts at all levels of the economies of Southeast Asian nations. This paper reviews the potentiality of tourism in regional economic development, cooperation and prospects of tourism in Southeast Asian economies by examining the nature of the development of tourism and identifying the problems of tourism industry that exist in the Southeast Asian tourism industry. It also explores the strategies needed to develop tourism collectively to achieve gains through the formation of pertaining environment and mobilization of endowed strategic resources. The conclusion of this paper suggests giving attention on a range of issues such as transparent objectives in aiming successful tourism development, implementation and integration of these objectives into national plans, participation of community people, tourism entrepreneurship and co-operation and integration of governments in developing tourism. It considers some aspects of the development of tourism and reveals to do further research in other relevant aspects. The paper reveals, successfully overcoming the tourism development difficulties, Southeast Asian tourism industry has the potentiality to get benefit from economies of scale.

Broadly, globalization is integration of nations’ economic, political, cultural, and social affai... more Broadly, globalization is integration of nations’ economic, political, cultural, and social affairs into a global affair. Up to the 16th century it was more of a cultural phenomenon. However from the 17th century it became a narrow focused business phenomenon as economic globalization. Operating under the capitalist economic system founded on the Darwinist social philosophy of ‘survival of the fittest’ it has become a phenomenon of ‘nation exploiting nation’. It is now popularly known as capitalist globalization where the industrialized trading partner always takes most of the gains from trade leaving very little or no portion of it for the dependent and weak partner under the principle, ‘strongest takes it all’. This dark and ugly face has made capitalist globalization a deceptive game meant to be used by the industrialized nations as an exploitative mechanism for enriching themselves. The paper analyses this inherently deceptive nature of capitalist globalization to conclude that the developing economies must pursue economic globalization cautiously, objectively, and selectively, and never wholeheartedly. It has used Malaysia’s globalization and income convergence with its rich trading and growth partners as a case study.

Key Word: Economic Globalization, Capitalist Globalization, ‘slim-green’ life style, Economic Nationalism, Income Convergence, Industrial Competitiveness, Malaysia

The impacts of both climate change and agricultural practice in Malaysia are generally seen to ha... more The impacts of both climate change and agricultural practice in Malaysia are generally seen to have been connected one with other in an interesting and circular way. The depth of the impacts of the both is certainly difficult to measure as it might require a comparative benefit-cost analysis, which is beyond the scope of the present study. This study is primarily aimed at reviewing the impacts of climate change on Malaysian agricultural sustainability and poverty. Analysis of the study has thus been developed with particular reference to appraisals concerned with the climate change and current agricultural practice and policy. The study reveals that climate change is a major threat for attaining agricultural sustainability in Malaysia as it continuously changes and affects the agriculture in diversified ways. Therefore, good measurement of its impacts on sustainable agriculture is needed to ensure long run agricultural sustainability in Malaysia.

Field of Research: Development Economics, Environmental Economics, Agricultural Economics

Climate change is proven to have had impacted the agricultural productivity, crop choice, and foo... more Climate change is proven to have had impacted the agricultural productivity, crop choice, and food security everywhere in the world. The nature, scale, frequency, and outcome of such impact differ significantly among countries, regions as well as areas within a country. This study is an effort to empirically investigate theses issues for Malaysia using both primary and secondary data collected from and relevant to the Integrated Agriculture Development Areas in the Northwest Selangor. The results reveal that climate change phenomenon such as natural disaster, drought, flood, pest attack, plant disease, and changing the time of crop cycle have adversely been impacting Malaysian agriculture and its productivity as well as profitability. Despite continuous increases of government subsidy as well as permission only for paddy production, the paddy planting area is decreasing as the agricultural farmers often experience adverse impacts of climatic variation. So, climate change phenomenon is also depressingly impacting the state of food security among the farmers. As climate change is universal and its existence is indefinite, the adaptation to and mitigation of damages from climate change will be the best ways to deal with its effects in the short run. Therefore, the farmers need to adapt to and find ways to mitigate the damages of climatic variation in order for them to sustain agricultural productivity and attain food security.

Key words: Climate Change, Agricultural Productivity, Crop Choice, Food Security, Paddy Farming, Farm Profitability, Agricultural Sustainability, Malaysia.

High population growth rate is considered as a hindrance to environmental and economic sustainabi... more High population growth rate is considered as a hindrance to environmental and economic sustainability. As a result all over the world there is a strong emphasis on stabilization of population. This has resulted in worldwide fertility rate to fall and consequently the youth population (under age 15) to decrease continuously. On the other hand because of better food and better health care life expectancy is increasing causing old–age population (age 65 and over) to increase. Moreover, serious diseases e.g. AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria etc. are adversely affecting on most of the projected high birth rate areas’ youth and working-age population causing shrinkage of working-age population in future years. With a declining working-age population in the face of an increasing dependent population the future world is faced with the fear of an increasing working-age dependency ratio and the resultant economic crisis. This crisis will become more serious in 2050-2080s for the reasons of “Child Bearing Habitual Gap”- time required to change child bearing habits of population, and “Working-age Formation Gap”- time required to become a working-age people after birth (youth age period). This paper critically examines the effect of the present population stabilization strategy on future world economy in terms of required labour forces, technological advancement, environmental competency, impacts of migration, and economic sustainability. It notes that industrialized countries are now managing with the migrant population drawn mostly from high fertility low income countries. But in the world context this is only a zero-sum game. World population must grow to meet the growing demand for world total labor force for economic sustainability.

Keywords: Population growth, fertility rate, work-age population, dependency ratio, migration, environmental sustainability, environmental competency, economic sustainability, technological advancement, AIDS, zero-sum game, ‘child bearing habitual gap’, ‘work-age formation gap.

Refereed Journal Articles by Md W Murad

This study examines the impacts of income, energy consumption and population growth on CO2 emissi... more This study examines the impacts of income, energy consumption and population growth on CO2 emissions by employing an annual time series data for the period 1970-2012 for India, Indonesia, China, and Brazil. The study used the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test approach considering both the linear and non-linear assumptions for related time series data for the top CO2 emitter emerging countries in both the short run and long run. The results show that CO2 emissions have increased statistically significantly with increases in income and energy consumption in all four countries. While the relationship between CO2 emissions and population growth was found to be statistically significant for India and Brazil, it has been statistically insignificant for China and Indonesia in both the short run and long run. Also, empirical observations from the testing of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis imply that in the cases of Brazil, China and Indonesia, CO2 emissions will decrease over the time when income increases. So based on the EKC findings, it can be argued that these three countries should not take any actions or policies, which might have conservative impacts on income, in order to reduce their CO2 emissions. But in the case of India, where CO2 emissions and income were found to have a positive relationship, an increase in income over the time will not reduce CO2 emissions in the country.

Integrating agency theory and asymmetric information theory, this study develops a decision dynam... more Integrating agency theory and asymmetric information theory, this study develops a decision dynamics model which could serve a benchmark for corporate businesses in their organizational decision-making processes, particularly in corporate governance. This is a conceptual study with an effort to reflect the sheer importance of corporate governance and its ability to influence stakeholders' interests. This study argues that corporate governance must help retain the best interests of the business as well as its stakeholders and safeguard organizational resources from misuse, abuse or practice of self interests of the managers. A sound corporate governance policy requires adopting such standards and mechanisms that would provide maximally acceptable assurance that under all circumstances, all stakeholders will be fairly and equitably treated to best serve their direct or indirect financial and also non-financial interests. This study concludes that corporate governance must operate in intellectual ways to improve efficiencies and foster capabilities of the organization and to protect simultaneously the interests of all stakeholders.

The rapid changes in climatic factors have different types of adverse impacts on agriculture in M... more The rapid changes in climatic factors have different types of adverse impacts on agriculture in Malaysia. In order to face and manage the climate change vulnerabilities, farmers are trying to adapt in various ways. This empirical study analyzed the current level of technological usage by paddy farmers to adapt to the situation. This study used primary data collected through a questionnaire survey on the paddy farmers in the Integrated Agricultural Development Area (IADA) at North-West Selangor, Malaysia in 2009-10. This study discussed the availability of machineries by individual farmers and their usage for adaptation to climate vulnerabilities. To determine the impacts of technology on the paddy production, this study analyzed time series regression at macro level and cross sectional regression at micro level. Further it discussed the adaptability of farmers based on the current level of technology usage and also the requirements of new technological supports for adaptation. It 2 found that technology has a significant positive relationship with paddy productions, but farmers do not have adequate technology and related skills to adapt to climate change vulnerabilities. Farmers need several technological innovations and relevant supports to adapt to the climatic vulnerability.

American Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2008

The Journal of Developing Areas, 2014

Economic zone or export processing zone in a country is a purpose-built industrial park with infr... more Economic zone or export processing zone in a country is a purpose-built industrial park with infrastructure designed to suit the needs of foreign as well as local investors. In order to tempt foreign investors into the zones the host developing countries offer a variety of incentives. By encouraging and motivating the multinational companies to settle their Greenfield investments in developing countries, the economic zone scheme acts as a tool for empowering the local economy to gain multiple capabilities and go global increasingly to facilitate income convergence between the industrialized and the developing countries through equitable sharing of the gains from trade. Nonetheless, it is not a magic wand. Its experiences in Malaysia and Bangladesh clearly show that it can create wonder only when it is appropriately designed and managed. It is suggested that Bangladesh borrows a leaf from the rich experiences of Malaysia’s economic zone model, to restructure and revitalize her economic zone scheme for greater success. JEL Classification: F21, H87, J24, L52, O14, O25 Keywords: Economic zone, globalization, industrialization, Malaysia, Bangladesh

This study is an effort to justify an emergence to develop an appraisal system for agricultural p... more This study is an effort to justify an emergence to develop an appraisal system for agricultural practices in Malaysia. The idea has come from the fact that although the policies for promoting Malaysia's agriculture sector towards sustainability were endorsed in 1998, but some agricultural practices in the country are found to be connected with environmental problems. Advanced quantitative analytical tools such as stationary tests and least squares estimations have been employed to attain the study objective and justify our arguments. The results, however, reveal that agricultural practices in Malaysia have been connected, to some extent, with environmental problems in the country. An increase in fertilizer consumption has been found to be positively connected with both agricultural production index and food production index for the country. The study also found that the contribution of Malaysian agriculture in terms of its value added to the national economy is certainly creditable, but this could have been connected with environmental problems on a greater scale. The results further reveal that an increase in the area of arable and permanent crops has also been associated with higher agricultural production index and food production index for the country. While most agricultural practices in Malaysia are observed to have been generally compatible with the standards of sustainable agriculture, an emergence still arises for the country to develop an appraisal system for monitoring its current agricultural practices. It is expected that the development of such an appraisal system will enable Malaysia to transform its agriculture into sustainable in which agricultural resources will not be exploited and environmental degradation will be absent.

The relationship between trade and environment is experienced by different countries in a differe... more The relationship between trade and environment is experienced by different countries in a different way and it is also widely accepted that trade impacts the environment in a wide variety of ways and through a multitude of channels. This study is primarily an effort to review the relationship between trade and environment in Malaysia. Then the study briefly reviews, within this relationship, the implication of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for selected environmental pollutants in Malaysia. The findings of the study show no evidence of an inverted-U shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for any of the six air and water pollutants in Malaysia. A few relevant policy options have been discussed following the findings and the study closes with some concluding remarks.

Environmental health problems in Malaysia are mostly attributed to atmospheric pollution, water p... more Environmental health problems in Malaysia are mostly attributed to atmospheric pollution, water pollution, climate change, ozone depletion, and solid waste management, as well as toxic, chemical, and hazardous waste management. The Ministry of Health, Malaysia, has been vigorously pursuing the environmental health agenda by collaborating with other agencies at district, state, national, and international levels. This article discusses the issues and management framework of environmental health in Malaysia. Some issues requiring further investigation in order to clearly understand the trade-off between atmospheric change and environmental health are suggested. These suggestions are developed with particular reference to appraisals concerned with the development and implementation of environmental policy, programs, and practice. Research on the relevant issues is discussed and a framework is built involving a comprehensive review of the literature and existing framework of Malaysian environmental health.

Agricultural contribution to GDP in Malaysia has been declining since 1970. The usages of agricul... more Agricultural contribution to GDP in Malaysia has been declining since 1970. The usages of agricultural land are also gradually decreasing. Even within the total agricultural area, most of the land has been used for industrial crops, and the ratio between industrial crops and food crops is increasing. Paddy is the main food crop in Malaysia, but as a low rate

Energy Studies Review, 2011

Abstract This study investigates the inter-temporal causal relationship between energy consumptio... more Abstract This study investigates the inter-temporal causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in Bangladesh during the period 1971-2007. This issue is of fundamental importance for the developing economy of Bangladesh. We use the Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration tests to explore the dynamic relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in Bangladesh. We apply newly developed methods based on simulations that are robust to ...

The Daily Independent, Oct 29, 2011

See the attached file and link.

Key Word: Economic Globalization, Capitalist Globalization, ‘slim-green’ life style, Economic Nationalism, Income Convergence, Industrial Competitiveness, Malaysia

Field of Research: Development Economics, Environmental Economics, Agricultural Economics

Key words: Climate Change, Agricultural Productivity, Crop Choice, Food Security, Paddy Farming, Farm Profitability, Agricultural Sustainability, Malaysia.

American Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2008

The Journal of Developing Areas, 2014

Energy Studies Review, 2011

This study investigates the inter-temporal causal relationship between energy consumption and eco... more This study investigates the inter-temporal causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in Bangladesh during the period 1971-2007. This issue is of fundamental importance for the developing economy of Bangladesh. We use the Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration tests to explore the dynamic relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in Bangladesh. We apply newly

American-Eurasian Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Science, 2012

The share of agriculture to GDP is continuously declining in Malaysia, but agricultural sector is... more The share of agriculture to GDP is continuously declining in Malaysia, but agricultural sector is very crucial to ensure food security, employment generation, socioeconomic improvement, economic growth, poverty reduction and overall achievement of vision 2020. The East Coast Economic Region (ECER) represents 34% of total national agricultural area, which has a good potentiality to improve productivity and reduce high poverty intensity in this area. Realizing the importance, Malaysian government has taken a large development project in the ECER region in 2006, but much is not known about the project due to limited number of study and unavailability of official performance report of the project. Hence this study is an attempt to explore one of the niche areas, which is agricultural crops sector. The major initiatives of agricultural crops sector include establishing three agro valleys as major vegetable and short-term crop growing areas. These involve organized modern farming methods in a sustainable manner to improve efficiency and productivity of agricultural production of paddy, vegetables and fruits. The prospects of the project are also very much anticipative, because the size of domestic market has grown in recent years. But there are lots of challenges to meet the target of the project. Institutional supports, physical infrastructural supports like transportations, irrigations and preservation facilities are not adequate in this area. To meet the target and to ensure the success of the projects, some more initiatives for improvements and proper management are also necessary. These include, for example, farmer's cooperative or institutional involvement for marketing the crops, financial supports and subsidies, cooperation among agents and departments, training to avoid environment degradations and adaptation techniques to cope with adverse effects of climatic changes, etc. It is expected that the relevant government authority and agencies, especially the ECER project authority, will be highly benefited from the findings of the study.

World Applied Sciences Journal, 2011

Asian Business & Management, 2012

Accessing pertinent knowledge before entry into Asian markets is essential for any firm seeking i... more Accessing pertinent knowledge before entry into Asian markets is essential for any firm seeking international expansion, particularly where psychic distance renders existing business assumptions inappropriate. This article examines the knowledge and relational activities of Australian service firms seeking to enter new Asian markets. The region is well known for the relational dynamics embedded in social and business interactions. We present a new perspective of the international entry of service firms in Asia, drawing on social capital theory and knowledge-based view of the firm. Results reveal an unexpected paradox -Australian service firms initially seek knowledge situated in the home operational context to leverage their entrance into their target Asian markets. Results are contrary to existing research and extend current knowledge, as Australian services firms clearly place a higher priority on enhancing operational rather than market-focused knowledge before entry. Evidence suggests that where psychic distance is high there is greater importance in accessing organizational situated knowledge over international market knowledge for leveraging foreign entrants in new Asian markets. Managerial implications suggest that entry into Asian markets requires managing multiple levels of relational interactions, and that leverage from the home market is essential to the process.

European Journal of East Asian Studies, 2011

Abstract: Globalisation is the economic policy of the integration of national economies with the ... more Abstract: Globalisation is the economic policy of the integration of national economies with the global economy on the basis of free market competition. It is a neoliberal prescription for industrialisation and growth of the emerging economies of the South, and a project of capital accumulation for the capitalist North through a process of securing a disproportionate share of the benefits at the expense of the developing South. The content analysis and Malaysia's globalisation experience support the hypothesis that globalisation has great potential to ...

Global Economy Journal, 2000

∗Nanzan University, kmrahman@ps.nanzan-u.ac.jp Multimedia University, rimolla@gmail.com Univers... more ∗Nanzan University, kmrahman@ps.nanzan-u.ac.jp Multimedia University, rimolla@gmail.com University of Malaysia Terengganu, mwmurad@gmail.com ... Copyright c 2008 Berkeley Electronic Press. All rights reserved. ... The China Factor Blunts the Cutting-Edge of

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 2010

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the link between climate change and ... more Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the link between climate change and agricultural growth in Malaysia, and pursue three sub-objectives: to determine and analyze the link between agricultural growth rate and climate change score; to determine and analyze the link between per capita CO 2 emissions and agricultural production index; and to determine and analyze the link between per capita agricultural production index and per capita CO 2 emissions. Design/methodology/approach– ...

The issues of climate change, agricultural sustainability and poverty in Malaysia are found to ha... more The issues of climate change, agricultural sustainability and poverty in Malaysia are found to have been connected one with other in an interesting and circular way. The quantitative determination of the linkages between these three factors is certainly a difficult task, which is beyond the scope of the present study. This study is thus primarily aimed at reviewing the linkages between climate change, agricultural sustainability and poverty in Malaysia. Some issues requiring further investigation in order to clearly understand the linkages between climate change, agricultural sustainability and poverty have been suggested. These have been developed with particular reference to appraisals concerned with the development and implementation of social policy, programmes and practices relevant to these three issues. The study closes with some concluding remarks

The Journal of Developing Areas, 2009

Population explosion of the last century necessitated adoption of a population stabilization poli... more Population explosion of the last century necessitated adoption of a population stabilization policy internationally but without due consideration of its paradoxical impacts on future world economic and environmental sustainability and progress of civilization. Population stabilization ...

Journal of Comparative International Management, Jun 1, 2008

The Japan-Malaysia free trade agreement (FTA) was signed in 2005 and implemented from 2006 with t... more The Japan-Malaysia free trade agreement (FTA) was signed in 2005 and implemented from 2006 with the expectation that it would further enhance the trade and investment relationship between the two countries. Yet, research suggests that the trade agreement and other tools for expanding trade between partner countries are substantially losing effectiveness. In light of this phenomenon, this study examines the role and effectiveness of the Japan-Malaysia FTA in influencing their bilateral trade. From analyses of time series data for Malaysia's trade with the world and Japan, in terms of trade volume, trade share, and rate of growth, it is observed that during the first two years of this FTA, its influence on bilateral trade between these two countries was not significant. This research indicates that the agreement is still at a fledgling stage, and has limited scope for influencing and revamping mutual trade. The results provide weak support for the thesis that formation of a free trade agreement or bloc is an effective tool for enhancing trade between partner countries. Although a two years of engagement is not long enough to test any rigorous model nor draw valid conclusions, a FTA is indeed an effective tool as long as partners do not enter into such arrangements with many countries, which may dilute the anticipated outcome of an agreement between two countries.

The Journal of Developing Areas, 2015

Faced with a phenomenal growth of population the world has embarked upon a population stabilizati... more Faced with a phenomenal growth of population the world has embarked upon a population stabilization policy that has led the fertility rate to fall and the work-age population for the future to shrink, pushing the world to a serious economic crisis more particularly after 2050 when only a decreasing size of the work-age population will be available to look after an increasing size of dependent population. The paper argues that to maintain a sustainable economic growth and support the associated technological advancements in the future there will be demand for a larger labor force. It notes that the industrialized countries are now managing with the migrant population drawn mostly from the high fertility low income countries. But in the world context this is only a zero-sum game without increasing the stock of world's total labor force. Therefore world population needs to grow to meet the growing demand for a larger labor force for economic sustainability. It also argues that since the earth's population carrying capacity largely depends on the technological capability and the life style of the society the world should not be scared of a planned population growth. The paper concludes that in the future the social engineering and technological innovations may give birth to an ethics and environment friendly 'slim-green' life style founded on the principle of 'simple living and high thinking', which will increase the earth's population absorption capacity. Along with the issue of increasing earth's population absorption capacity, the issue of producing more food in the regions where it is needed should be addressed with political will and resolutions of the global community.