Estimating the economic model of Hundi using micro-level data

Following Friedman et al. (2000), we have developed an economic model of Hundi (an informal money transfer system) behavior and is designated to identify the factors that determine the channels (formal or informal) used by remitters. The model is empirically tested using Tobit analysis for a sample of 132 returned migrants of greater Sylhet region in Bangladesh with work experience in 11 different host countries. Our findings suggest that sending remittances through Hundi first increases with age, peaks at one point, and then declines thereafter. It is observed that single or unmarried migrants are more likely to remit through Hundi, while relatively educated migrants have the opposite preferences. Cost and financing of migration have significant impact on an individual’s decision to choose the remitting channel. It is also found that the nature of the migration and type of job abroad affect an individual’s decision to use the remitting channel. Furthermore, migrants who have no ability to speak the language of the country of destination are generally more inclined to remit through an informal channel. Finally, migrants who receive low commission to remit, have families or relatives living in remote areas and mainly dependent on remittances, and have the opportunity to remit in holidays are more likely to remit through Hundi than their counterparts.     

Communicating sociocultural norms and social and religious practices in Iranian death notices

Drawing on a corpus of 100 randomly collected death notices published in an Iranian national newspaper, this study examined generic structures as well as their lexico-grammatical patterning to reveal what communicative functions are articulated by these generic components. Basing our identification of moves on Swales [1990. Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press], we identified 12 rhetorical moves in the corpus. We illustrated that these recurrent rhetorical moves reflect the Iranian sociocultural norms, as well as social and religious beliefs. Also, the results substantiated [Kress, Gunther, and Theo van Leeuwen. 1996. Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. London: Routledge] multimodality perspective on textual analysis in that they rejected linguistic items as the only meaning-making device and identified colour, position, photo and size, among others, as worthwhile veritable semiotic devices.     

Migration and Translocal Livelihoods of Coastal Small-scale Fishers in Bangladesh

Based on qualitative fieldwork, this study analyses reasons and outcomes of fishers’ migration in Bangladesh. The results show that fishers’ livelihoods are characterised by a series of vulnerabilities and endemic poverty contributing to their migration decisions. However, fishers also migrate pro-actively to enhance their capacities and explore opportunities. The outcomes of migration are highly diverging: while for poorer fishers, migration is a way of coping with shocks, better resourced fishers can use it for asset accumulation. The importance of migration for their livelihoods and emerging networks across space generate forms of translocal households that coordinate their activities over long distances.     

Decomposing the Labour Productivity Gap between Migrant-Owned and Native-Owned Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa

Migration studies have been primarily based on the movement of individuals from developing to developed economies, with a focus on the impact of migrants on host country wages. In this study we take a different angle by exploring the labour productivity of migrant-owned firms versus native-owned firms in 20 African economies using firm-level data. We find that labour productivity is 78 per cent higher in migrant-owned firms than native-owned firms. Using the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method we find that structural effects account for 80 per cent of the labour productivity gap. Returns to manager education largely explain the productivity advantage of migrant-owned firms over native-owned firms. Interactions with the government, access to finance, informality, and power outages are also considerable contributors to the labour productivity gap.     

Civil service reforms in British India and united Pakistan

Nearly 200 years of British rule of the Indian sub-continent clearly and significantly affected the society and people in the region. One of the continuing legacies of the British rule has been in the area of civil administration. The Indian Civil Service (ICS) characterized by centralization of authority and elite nature symbolized the British domination of the Indian people. From time to time attempts were made to reform the ICS. These reforms included introduction of competitive examination as a mode of entry, provision for systematic training and Indianization of the service. Pakistan inherited and continued with the British administrative system. The Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) was modelled after the ICS. A number of attempts were made to reform the CSP but all failed due to lack of political will and bureaucratic resistance to major administrative reforms.     

The Fifth Wave: The New Tribalism? 1

In political disputes, issue frames set parameters for debate and shape which view dominates. This study expands issue framing research to examine the influence of frames on the perception of future terrorist threats as well as subsequent support for related counterterrorism policies. We test several hypotheses using data from an experimental field poll. We find that issue frames clearly influence perceptions of threat. However, our frames, which posit specific terrorism threats, only have a limited influence on respondent preferences for counter-terrorism policies. We consider a variety of explanations for these results and provide direction for future research.     

Malaysia – towards a topology of an electoral one-party state

For the first time in 51 years of independence, Malaysia's ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (National Front, BN) under the weak leadership of Abdullah Badawi was denied its customary parliamentary two-third majority in the 2008 elections. The three major opposition parties, which formed the Pakatan Rakyat (The People's Alliance, PR) after the elections, increased the number of opposition-held state governments from one to five. The opposition had never held more than two state governments at any one time.1 Chin and Wong, ‘Malaysia's Electoral Upheaval’. Parts of this paper were used in a research project organized by the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre. View all notes For many practitioners and students of Malaysian politics, the 2008 poll means the birth of a long overdue ‘two-party system’, where two multi-ethnic coalitions contest for power and alternate in running the country. After all, two similar attempts to build a Malay-dominated second coalition to rival the ruling coalition dominated by the ethno-nationalist United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) were made in the 1990 and 1999 elections by former UMNO leaders who lost in their party in-fighting. Sadly, the coalitions built did not survive even the next elections. We argue that such optimism may be misplaced due to a failure to appreciate the ‘electoral one-party state’ nature of Malaysia.2 Wong and Norani, ‘Malaysia at 50’. View all notes Despite having held 13 national elections without failure, and having almost no incidence of in- or post-election violence, neither a military coup nor ‘people's power’, Malaysia has never been anywhere close to being a ‘consolidated democracy’, 52 years after joining what Huntington called the second wave of democratization.3 Huntington, The Third Wave. View all notes For Linz and Stepan, a consolidated democracy requires not only a government with de facto authority to generate policy and exclusive de jure power, but also that ‘this government comes to power that is the direct result of a free and popular vote’. In other words, democracy has to become ‘the only game in town’.4 Linz and Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition, 5. View all notes     

A literature review of partnerships

In today＇s competitive era, all organizations and enterprises, including small and medium enterprises （SMEs）, should have collaboration with each other to survive and they cannot be globally successful by working alone. A partnership is the relationship existing between two or more persons or entities that join to carry on a trade or business. Each one contributes money, property, labor or skill, and expects to share the profits and losses of the business. There are different types of partnerships, and organizations should inform from them and apply from it in suitable cases. Each partnership has its own advantages and disadvantages as well. This paper aims to describe some types of partnerships between governments, communities, new social movements and firms.