Mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on domestic rice supply and food security in Southeast Asia

Food and medication security is an unseen battle occurring during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sustainable rice supplies are crucial during a pandemic period, especially in Southeast Asian countries (SEA countries). This study analyzes the vulnerability level of SEA countries regarding rice supply, with alternative import strategies recommended. By employing RCA, CAaA, and XCA indexes, the comparative advantage and competitiveness of rice-exporting countries are analyzed. The study shows that Malaysia and Singapore are highly vulnerable regarding rice crisis, while Indonesia, Philippines, and Brunei are moderately vulnerable. Thailand and Vietnam supply 76.74% of SEA countries’ rice imports. SEA importers should consider alternative import strategies in order to reduce their high-risk dependency on the supply of rice from Thailand and Vietnam. XCA analysis results show that India, Thailand, Pakistan, Vietnam, China, and the USA are more competitive and have better comparative advantages as compared to other rice exporters with a high supply volume or lower prices. The alternative rice-exporting suppliers that could be considered by SEA countries are Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Additionally, this paper introduces the XCA index and CAaA index to complement the bias of the RCA index.

AKAD MURĀBAḤAH; KONSEP DAN PELAKSANAAN DI LEMBAGA KEUANGAN ISLAM MODERN

ABSTRACTIslamic banking in Indonesia has experienced significant growth, including assets, financing providedand the number of customers. Murābaḥah is the sale and purchase of goods at the original price with theagreed-upon profit. In murābaḥah the seller must tell the cost of the product he buys and determine anadditional level of profit. This research is a library research about the murābaḥah contract according tomuamalah fiqh and its application in modern Islamic financial institutions. Methods of collecting data indocumentation and various sources related to the murābaḥah contract are then analyzed inductively anddeductively. The results of the study are the murābaḥah foundation is the principle of buying and sellingwith a deferred payment system. Murābaḥah, as used in Sharia banking, is based on two main elements,namely the purchase price and related costs, and the agreement on mark-up (profit). Islamic banks adoptmurābaḥah to provide short-term financing to customers for the purchase of goods even though thecustomer does not have the money to pay. The murābaḥah financing portfolio in Islamic banks reaches 70-80%, but in practice there have never been any problems, including; collateral which is a problem of fiqh,risk dependency as a problem of the bank, bankruptcy and delay in payment are the problems of customers,and profits are too high, namely the problem of coming from the community. Therefore, Islamic banks mustmake improvements in the implementation to be in accordance with Sharia.Keyword : Murābaḥah, Financing Instruments, Modern Islamic Financing

Operational risk dependencies

This paper explores dependencies between operational risks and between operational risks and other risks such as market, credit and insurance risk. The paper starts by setting the regulatory context and then goes into practical aspects of operational risk dependencies. Next, methods of modelling operational risk dependencies are considered with a simulation study exploring the sensitivity of diversification benefits arising from dependency models. The following two sections consider how correlation assumptions may be set, highlighting some generic dependencies between operational risks and with non-operational risks to assist in the assessment of dependencies and correlation assumptions. Supplementary appendices provide further detail on generic dependencies as well as a case study of how business models can lead to operational risks interacting with other risks. Finally, the paper finishes with a literature review of operational risk dependency papers including correlation studies and benchmark reports.

Embracing and controlling risk dependency in cyber-insurance policy underwriting

This article highlights how cyber risk dependencies can be taken into consideration when underwriting cyber-insurance policies. This is done within the context of a base rate insurance policy framework, which is widely used in practice. Specifically, we show that there is an opportunity for an underwriter to better control the risk dependency and the risk spill-over, ultimately resulting in lower overall cyber risks across its portfolio. To do so, we consider a Service Provider (SP) and its customers as the interdependent insurer’s customers: a data breach suffered by the SP can cause business interruption to its customers. In underwriting both the SP and its customers, we show that the insurer can increase its profit by incentivizing the SP (through a discount on its premium) to invest more in security, thereby decreasing the chance of business interruption to the customers, and increasing social welfare. For comparison, we also consider a scenario where the insurer underwrites only the SP’s customers (but not the SP), and receives compensation from the SP’s insurance carrier when losses are attributed to the SP. We show how the insurer’s best strategy is to underwrite both the SP and its customers. We use an actual cyber-insurance policy and claims data to calibrate and substantiate our analytical findings.

Selection of risk response actions considering risk dependency

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to address the problem of selecting risk response actions (RRAs) considering the risk dependency that is seldom considered in the existing studies. Design/methodology/approach First, a method based on the Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical-Based Evaluation Technique (MACBETH) is proposed to measure the dependencies between the risks, and then a preference coefficient denoting the relative importance of the risk dependency is introduced. Besides, an exponential utility function is used to describe the project manager’s (PM) risk-averse behaviour. Finally, a mathematical model that incorporates the risk dependency and risk preference of the PM is constructed for selecting the RRAs. Findings Risk dependency plays an important role in the process of RRA selection. First, more expected utility can be obtained when the risk dependency is considered. Second, more attention should be paid to the risk dependency for coping with critical risks when the budget is tight. Practical implications This method can be applied to determine the RRAs when the risk dependency exists between the project risks. Originality/value This paper proposes a model to select RRAs with consideration of the risk dependency, which is an important issue from a theoretical as well as a practical perspective in project risk management.