Dynamics of banking sector integration in South Asia: an empirical study

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-332
Author(s):  
Piyush Pandey ◽  
Sanjay Sehgal ◽  
Wasim Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Trade Integration ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Growth And Development ◽  
The World ◽  
Lending Rates ◽  
Sector Integration

Purpose Banks in the South Asian region are the fulcrum of economic growth and development as they provide means to development credit and working capital, trade and infrastructure finance and are seen as custodians of the trust in the financial system. This paper aims to study the nature of banking sector linkages for the region. Design/methodology/approach The dependence structure between deposits and lending rates individually for the banks of the South Asian countries are studied using time invariant and time varying family of copula functions. The degree of connectedness is further studied by Diebold and Yilmaz methodology. Findings Results indicate poor levels of banking integration in the region as the dependence parameter for both deposits and lending rates was around 0 for the sample countries, thereby confirming poor banking sector integration in the region. Practical implications Policymakers of the region are interested in the co-movements of the interest rates to understand the cross-sector risk management and any systemic risk pressures for the regional economies. Corporates in these countries are scouting out for competitive borrowing rates to lower their cost of capital. Social implications Rationale for examining the banking sector linkages is that the South Asian countries are at different stages of economic growth and development and this region in particular is the fastest growing region in the world and has largely increased its trade integration with the world albeit having lowest levels of intra-regional trade integration. Originality/value This is a first of a kind of studies to examine the banking sector linkages in South Asia.

COVID-19 vaccination in South Asia: a call for responsible leadership among SAARC countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amlan Haque ◽  
Md Shamirul Islam
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Responsible Leadership ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Regional Leadership ◽  
Future Challenges

Purpose Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has presented an opportunity to set aside traditional regional collaborations and take responsible leadership to overcome difficult times. This paper aims to explore the current COVID-19 vaccination progress and pandemic status for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries and suggests responsible leadership to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and to think beyond. Design/methodology/approach This paper offers a viewpoint of the current COVID-19 vaccination among eight SAARC nations. It scrutinises the recent COVID-19 vaccination statistics for the eight South Asian countries based on Web-based analytics and comparative analysis until 28 August 2021. Findings This paper calls for collaborative decisions and responsible actions for policymakers in the SAARC countries to deal with the COVID-19 vaccination crisis. When South Asian countries are fraught with the increasing number of populations with COVID-19 cases, deaths and acute shortage of life-saving vaccines, it is time for their national and SAARC leaders to strengthen regional cooperations and initiate collaborative actions. The paper demonstrates that implementing responsible leadership can result in favourable outcomes for individuals, organisations, regions and the world. Moreover, this paper suggests SAARC, through responsible actions, has the potentiality to overcome the current crisis of COVID-19 vaccination and enhance the regional sustainability of the South Asian nations. Originality/value This paper delivers information about the present developing situation of COVID-19 vaccination in SAARC countries, how the governments and regional leadership are handling and future challenges that have been raised and can be overcome effectively. This paper can be helpful for the policymakers and SAARC leaders for effective public health interventions in the region and to develop a recovery roadmap for the sustainable economic zone.

Climate change and women in South Asia: a review and future policy implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-166
Author(s):  
Sangram Kishor Patel ◽  
Gopal Agrawal ◽  
Bincy Mathew ◽  
Sunita Patel ◽  
Biswajit Mohanty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Policy

Purpose South Asian region is a focal point owing to its vulnerabilities to climate-sensitive diseases, dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods, projected levels of crop decline in the region, and high rates of poverty and malnutrition. Women are particularly vulnerable to climate change and this affects women disproportionately during different extreme events. The purpose of this paper is to understand the issue of climate change and its impact, and climate resilience among women in South Asia. Further, it also identifies the gaps and suggests future policy implications. Design/methodology/approach Climate change is increasingly being recognised as an alarming issue and the present review is important when South Asian countries are facing the brunt of climate change impacts. This paper tries to understand the issue by review of the literature and conceptual framework methodology. To understand women’s vulnerability due to climate change and its aftermath, the authors conducted both offline and online desk reviews for this study. Findings The findings of this study show a clear linkage between climate change and women’s vulnerabilities in South Asia. Climate change has significant socio-economic impacts on women, and it affects them disproportionately in various domains of agriculture, livelihood, food security, both physical and mental health, water and sanitation in the South Asia region. Practical implications The paper also highlights that the programmes that aim at combating the effects of climate change require a gender-sensitive approach so that climate change does not obstruct the development and reduction of poverty in the region. Social implications The findings of this paper will add value in helping families to come out of poverty by undertaking adaptive measures with proactive assistance from the government and grassroots level organisations. Originality/value The present study also advocates for more gender- and climate-sensitive measures from governments, and implementation of intervention- and evidence-based research in the South Asian countries.

Developing Economies in A Borderless World

2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-62
Author(s):  
P.K. Jain ◽  
Manmohan Yadav
Keyword(s):  
South Asian ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Trade Policies ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Per Capita Gdp ◽  
The World ◽  
Per Capita

The “Death of Distance” will be the single most important economic force shaping the society over the next half century with geography, borders and time zones becoming irrelevant with the new communication revolution. The world trade has increased manifolds since World War II and the merchandise exports have increased to about $6,000 billion today from just $50 billion in 1950 while the trade in services is increasing faster and stands at about $1,450 billion as the economies are opening up and integrating with the world economy. As evident from the experience of the countries that followed open-market and free trade policies, achieved higher growth rates in their GDP, per capita GDP, and the exports than the closed economies. As more and more countries are opening their economies and integrating with the world economy and the revolution in IT, we are heading towards a “borderless” world with free flow of trade and resources. The autarkic strategies for economic development followed by India since its independence inevitably cut the economy off from the technological advancements in rest of the world and as a result India still remains way behind the industrialised economies. Also, despite above average growth in India's GDP and exports since 1970s than the world average, India's per capita GDP is among the lowest at $370. Even the most populous country in the world, China has per capita GDP of $860. The balance-of-payments crisis in mid-1991 forced the Indian policymakers to make a paradigm shift, though under IMF-led bail out package and prescription for structural adjustments, in its economic, industrial, and trade policies more commonly known as the “economic reforms”- liberalisation and globalisation of Indian economy. While the reforms have helped overcome the liquidity crisis and the economy broadly got back to the growth charted in 1980s, yet the structural adjustments have propelled investment in non-traded goods and in buying out of well performing Indian companies and brands by the MNCs than actually increasing the gross fixed capital formation in the manufacturing sector with the modern technologies. It is under this background and the similarities in cultural, political, ethnic and alike factors among the South Asian countries, that the present paper aims at analysing and learning lessons from the progressive aspects as well as failures of India's economic reforms, while the South Asian countries emulated the same.

Remittances-inflation nexus in South Asia: an empirical examination

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hem C. Basnet ◽  
Ficawoyi Donou-Adonsou ◽  
Kamal Upadhyaya
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Panel Cointegration ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether remittances induce inflation in South Asian countries, namely, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel cointegration and Pooled Mean Group techniques covering from 1975 to 2017 to estimate the long-run and the short-run effect of remittances on inflation. Findings The estimated results suggest that the inflationary impact of remittances in South Asia depends on the time length. The inflow tends to lower inflation in the short run, whereas it increases in the long run. The findings highlight the regional peculiarity in the impact of remittances on the price level. The results are statistically significant and are confirmed by the Mean Group estimation as well. Originality/value Most past studies investigating the nexus between remittances and inflation in the South Asian context examine either these countries individually or include them all in a pool of big cross-sections. This study contributes to the literature by addressing this void. The South Asian countries should not generalize the earlier findings on the link between remittance inflows and inflation, as the short-run effect is different from the long run. Thus, these countries would be better off designing long-run policies that are different from the short run.

Does trade interdependency lead linkages between stock markets? A case of South Asian countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Stock Prices ◽  
Stock Markets ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The South ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the dynamic linkages among the stock markets of four South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) in the backdrop of trade interdependency. Design/methodology/approach Listed indices are used to serve the proxy of stock markets of four countries for the period: January 2000–December 2018. The study uses the autoregressive distributed lag model and Granger causality techniques in multivariate frameworks while focusing on intraregional trade as an exogenous factor for testing the long- and short-run causality in the given data set, hence raising the quality of statistical inference. Findings The results highlight that India and Pakistan are net exporters to the South Asian region, while Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are net importers from the region. While testing the stock markets linkages, the expanded intraregional trade volumes (exports plus imports) have occurred with the significant cointegration of stock markets of India and Pakistan with the other stock markets in the long run. In the short run, the stock markets of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka report bidirectional causality without having significant spillovers of intraregional trade on the stock prices. Research limitations/implications The study relies on the multivariate techniques with stock prices and regional trade share as the exogenous variables. Further the regulatory, political and economic conditions of sample countries are fundamentally different which in turn affect their degree of trade interdependency and integration between the stock markets. Practical implications Nonsignificant cointegration of the stock markets of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh highlights the possibility of portfolio diversification in the long run, while the significant bidirectional causalities between the stock markets highlight the lesser degree of portfolio diversifications in the short run. Originality/value Pioneer efforts are made to examine the dynamic linkages between the South Asian stock markets while focusing on regional trade interdependency. The results provide new insight in the dynamics of stock returns of South Asian stock markets in the backdrop of intraregional trade.

scholarly journals Climate change, regulatory policies and regional cooperation in South Asia

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habib Zafarullah ◽  
Ahmed Shafiqul Huque
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
South Asian Region

Purpose With climate change and environmental degradation being major issues in the world today, it is imperative for governments within a regional setting to collaborate on initiatives, harmonize their policies and develop strategies to counter threats. In South Asia, several attempts have been made to create a common framework for action in implementing synchronized policies. However, both political and technical deterrents have thwarted moves to accommodate priorities and interests of collaborating states. The purpose of this paper is to assess these issues and existing policies/strategies in selected South Asian countries and evaluate integrated plans of action based on collaborative partnerships. Design/methodology/approach Using a broad exploratory and interpretive approach, this paper evaluates how harmonization of environmental principles and synergies among countries can help reduce the effect of climate change and environmental hazards. Based on a review of ideas and concepts as well as both primary and secondary sources, including official records, legislation, inter-state and regional agreements, evaluation reports, impact studies (social, economic and ecological), and commentaries, it highlights several initiatives and processes geared to creating environmental protection standards and practices for the South Asian region. Findings Climate change has resulted in devastating impacts on people. It contributed to the proliferation of climate refugees and high incidence of poverty in South Asia. The region faces both political and technical obstacles in developing a sustainable approach to combat climate change. This is exacerbated by non-availability of information as well as reluctance to acknowledge the problem by key actors. The best strategy will be to integrate policies and regulations in the various countries of the region to develop strategic plans. The approach of prevention and protection should replace the existing emphasis on relief and rehabilitation. Originality/value The paper provides a critical overview of the climatic and environmental problems encountered in the South Asian region and provides pointers to resolving shared problems through the use of policy instruments for regulating the problems within the gamut of regional environmental governance. It attempts to identify solutions to offset regulatory and institutional barriers in achieving preferred results by emphasizing the need for redesigning regulatory structures and policy approaches for ecological well-being.

scholarly journals Scopes and opportunities of buffalo farming in Bangladesh: A review

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Hamid ◽  
MNA Siddiky ◽  
MA Rahman ◽  
KM Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Buffalo Milk ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Subsistence Farming ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Production Potential ◽  
The World ◽  
Total Milk

The present study attempts to examine the scenario of buffalo production in Bangladesh. The buffalo plays a very important role in the South Asian region which constitutes 77.5% of world buffalo population. This region has a great biodiversity in buffalo germplasm, including the world famous source promising buffaloes Murrah and Nili-Ravi - renowned for high milk production potential. It is estimated that about 96.05 % of Asia and 93.19 % of world buffalo milk are produced in South Asian countries. Besides, buffalo milk in South Asian countries is around 54.95 % of the total milk production. The India and Pakistan share 67.99% and 23.96%, of world buffalo milk production respectively. About 71.4% of world buffalo meat is produced in South Asian countries. Although buffalo is an integral part of livestock production system in South Asian countries, it has never been addressed in Bangladesh and always neglected despite their important role in the national economy. In Bangladesh, the total buffalo population are 1.464 million heads that are managed in household subsistence farming as well as extensive free range (Bathan) farming in saline coastal region that are used as a draught animal and partially for milk and meat production. The contribution of buffalo in total milk and meat production in Bangladesh is only 2.0% and 0.94%, respectively. This review has tried to unearth the present scenario of buffalo production in Bangladesh, describing the benefits and values of buffalo milk and meat, advantages of buffalo husbandry over cattle, constraints in buffalo production and recommendations for buffalo development in Bangladesh.SAARC J. Agri., 14(2): 63-77 (2016)

Acute Pancreatitis Following Organophosphate Compound Poisoning: A Case Report

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 250-252
Author(s):  
Suman K. Jha ◽  
Sabin Chaulagain ◽  
Shiva Kumar Ojha ◽  
Angela Basnet Neela Sunuwar ◽  
Akanchha Khadka
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Acute Pancreatitis ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Case Report ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Organophosphate Compounds ◽  
The World ◽  
Agrarian Communities

Organophosphate compounds are chemicals containing central phosphate molecules with alkyl or aromatic substituent’s. They occur in diverse forms and are used as pesticides, herbicides, nerve agents, etc. Organophosphate compounds are frequently used as pesticides in agrarian communities all across the world. South Asian countries such as Nepal use vast quantities of Organophosphate compounds for pest control in agriculture. Therefore, accidental and suicidal ingestion of Organophosphate compound poisoning has been common especially among the agricultural rural communities. Apart from muscarinic, nicotinic and central nervous system effects in rare instances, Organophosphate compounds are known to cause pancreatitis.

Literature review on effect of microfinance institutions on poverty in South Asian countries and their sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prashant Kumar Gupta ◽  
Seema Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Exclusion Criteria ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effect

PurposeThe authors present a systematic literature review on microfinance institutions’ (MFIs) effect on poverty and how they can ensure their sustainability. The purpose of this article is to review the effect of MFIs on poverty in South Asian countries. The analysis and review of the selected corpus of literature also provide avenues for future research.Design/methodology/approachA total of 95 papers from 49 journals in 4 academic libraries and publishers were systematically studied and classified. The authors define the keywords and the inclusion/exclusion criteria for the identification of papers. The review includes an analysis of the selected papers that give insights about publications with respect to themes, number of themes covered in individual publications, nations, scope, methodology, number of methods used and publication trend.FindingsThe literature indicates the positive effect of microfinance on poverty but with a varying degree on various categories of poor. The relation between poverty and microfinance is, however, dependent on the nation under the scanner. While sustainability and outreach co-exist, their trade-off is still a matter of debate.Originality/valueThis is the first systematic literature review on MFIs’ effect on poverty in South Asian nations. Additionally, the authors discuss the literature on the trade-off between sustainability and outreach for MFIs.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document