Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 966 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Goh YK, Hasim HM, Antonopoulos CG
    PLoS One, 2018;13(2):e0192160.
    PMID: 29420644 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192160
    In this paper, we study data from financial markets, using the normalised Mutual Information Rate. We show how to use it to infer the underlying network structure of interrelations in the foreign currency exchange rates and stock indices of 15 currency areas. We first present the mathematical method and discuss its computational aspects, and apply it to artificial data from chaotic dynamics and to correlated normal-variates data. We then apply the method to infer the structure of the financial system from the time-series of currency exchange rates and stock indices. In particular, we study and reveal the interrelations among the various foreign currency exchange rates and stock indices in two separate networks, of which we also study their structural properties. Our results show that both inferred networks are small-world networks, sharing similar properties and having differences in terms of assortativity. Importantly, our work shows that global economies tend to connect with other economies world-wide, rather than creating small groups of local economies. Finally, the consistent interrelations depicted among the 15 currency areas are further supported by a discussion from the viewpoint of economics.
    Matched MeSH terms: Economics*
  2. Hébert RJ
    PMID: 21335705
    Health Informatics (HI) has become a world wide issue since 2005 when the WHO Health Metrics Network (HMN) was formed to encourage all of the developing countries (151) to get started in eHealth. Prior to this HMN initiative the only countries with HI in place were the developed countries (40) and a few developing countries (Jamaica, Malaysia, etc.) that were just getting started in HI with a very limited number of applications compared to the developed countries. This paper suggests that much of the experience in HI gained in the developed countries can be shared with the developing countries as 'lessons learnt' - as long as the issue of economics is kept front and foremost in the planning.
    Matched MeSH terms: Economics, Medical*; Medical Informatics/economics*
  3. Jogad N, Patil PG, Gade V, Patil S
    J Prosthet Dent, 2015 Sep;114(3):458-9.
    PMID: 26047801 DOI: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2015.04.005
    Matched MeSH terms: Cementation/economics*; Composite Resins/economics*; Inlays/economics*
  4. Ayittey FK, Ayittey MK, Chiwero NB, Kamasah JS, Dzuvor C
    J Med Virol, 2020 05;92(5):473-475.
    PMID: 32048740 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25706
    Matched MeSH terms: Commerce/economics*; Pneumonia, Viral/economics*; Travel/economics; Coronavirus Infections/economics*; Pandemics/economics*
  5. Ruiz Estrada MA, Yap SF, Park D
    Disasters, 2014 Jul;38 Suppl 2:S206-29.
    PMID: 24905816 DOI: 10.1111/disa.12069
    Natural hazards have a potentially large impact on economic growth, but measuring their economic impact is subject to a great deal of uncertainty. The central objective of this paper is to demonstrate a model--the natural disasters vulnerability evaluation (NDVE) model--that can be used to evaluate the impact of natural hazards on gross national product growth. The model is based on five basic indicators-natural hazards growth rates (αi), the national natural hazards vulnerability rate (ΩT), the natural disaster devastation magnitude rate (Π), the economic desgrowth rate (i.e. shrinkage of the economy) (δ), and the NHV surface. In addition, we apply the NDVE model to the north-east Japan earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 to evaluate its impact on the Japanese economy.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters/economics*; Earthquakes/economics*; Tsunamis/economics*
  6. Suleiman AB, Lye MS, Yon R, Teoh SC, Alias M
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 1998;10(1):5-9.
    PMID: 10050200
    In the wake of the east Asian economic crisis, the health budget for the public sector in Malaysia was cut by 12%. The Ministry of Health responded swiftly with a series of broad-based and specific strategies. There was a careful examination of the operating expenditure and where possible measures were taken to minimise the effects of the budget constraints at the service interface. The MOH reprioritised the development of health projects. Important projects such as rural health projects and training facilities, and committed projects, were continued. In public health, population-based preventive and promotive activities were expected to experience some form of curtailment. There is a need to refocus priorities, maximise the utilisation of resources, and increase productivity at all levels and in all sectors, both public and private, in order to minimise the impact of the economic downturn on health.
    Matched MeSH terms: Economics/trends*; Financing, Government/economics; Health Priorities/economics*; Health Services/economics*; Private Sector/economics; Public Sector/economics
  7. Ch'ng ES, Khiro FI
    Malays J Pathol, 2018 Aug;40(2):209-211.
    PMID: 30173241
    No abstract available.
    Matched MeSH terms: Immunohistochemistry/economics*
  8. Myint CY, Pavlova M, Thein KN, Groot W
    PLoS One, 2019;14(6):e0217278.
    PMID: 31199815 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217278
    We systematically review the health-financing mechanisms, revenue rising, pooling, purchasing, and benefits, in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the People's Republic of China, and their impact on universal health coverage (UHC) goals in terms of universal financial protection, utilization/equity and quality. Two kinds of sources are reviewed: 1) academic articles, and 2) countries' health system reports. We synthesize the findings from ASEAN countries and China reporting on studies that are in the scope of our objective, and studies that focus on the system (macro level) rather than treatment/technology specific studies (micro level).The results of our review suggest that the main sources of revenues are direct/indirect taxes and out of pocket payments in all ASEAN countries and China except for Brunei where natural resource revenues are the main source of revenue collection. Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Viet Nam have a single pool for revenue collection constituting a national health insurance. Cambodia, China, Lao, Singapore, and Thailand have implemented multiple pooling systems while Myanmar has no formal arrangement. Capitation, Fee-for-Service, DRGs, Fee schedules, Salary, and Global budget are the methods of purchasing in the studied countries. Each country has its own definition of the basic benefit package which includes the services that are perceived as essential for the population health. Although many studies provide evidence of an increase in financial protection after reforming the health-financing mechanisms in the studied countries, inequity in financial protection continue to exist. Overall, the utilization of health care among the poor has increased as a consequence of the implementation of government subsidized health insurance schemes which target the poor in most of the studied countries. Inappropriate policies and provider payment mechanisms impact on the quality of health care provision. We conclude that the most important factors to attain UHC are to prioritize and include vulnerable groups into the health insurance scheme. Government subsidization for this kind of groups is found to be an effective method to achieve this goal. The higher the percentage of government expenditure on health, the greater the financial protection is. At the same time, there is a need to weigh the financial stability of the health-financing system. A unified health insurance system providing the same benefit package for all, is the most efficient way to attain equitable access to health care. Capacity building for both administrative and health service providers is crucial for sustainable and good quality health care.
    Matched MeSH terms: Universal Coverage/economics*
  9. Chan Phooi M'ng J, Zainudin R
    PLoS One, 2016;11(8):e0160931.
    PMID: 27574972 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160931
    The objective of this research is to examine the trends in the exchange rate markets of the ASEAN-5 countries (Indonesia (IDR), Malaysia (MYR), the Philippines (PHP), Singapore (SGD), and Thailand (THB)) through the application of dynamic moving average trading systems. This research offers evidence of the usefulness of the time-varying volatility technical analysis indicator, Adjustable Moving Average (AMA') in deciphering trends in these ASEAN-5 exchange rate markets. This time-varying volatility factor, referred to as the Efficacy Ratio in this paper, is embedded in AMA'. The Efficacy Ratio adjusts the AMA' to the prevailing market conditions by avoiding whipsaws (losses due, in part, to acting on wrong trading signals, which generally occur when there is no general direction in the market) in range trading and by entering early into new trends in trend trading. The efficacy of AMA' is assessed against other popular moving-average rules. Based on the January 2005 to December 2014 dataset, our findings show that the moving averages and AMA' are superior to the passive buy-and-hold strategy. Specifically, AMA' outperforms the other models for the United States Dollar against PHP (USD/PHP) and USD/THB currency pairs. The results show that different length moving averages perform better in different periods for the five currencies. This is consistent with our hypothesis that a dynamic adjustable technical indicator is needed to cater for different periods in different markets.
    Matched MeSH terms: Investments/economics*
  10. Chia SR, Chew KW, Show PL, Yap YJ, Ong HC, Ling TC, et al.
    Biotechnol J, 2018 Jun;13(6):e1700618.
    PMID: 29356369 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201700618
    Microalgae are considered promising feedstock for the production of biofuels and other bioactive compounds, yet there are still challenges on commercial applications of microalgae-based products. This review focuses on the economic analysis, environmental impact, and industrial potential of biofuels production from microalgae. The cost of biofuels production remains higher compared to conventional fuel sources. However, integration of biorefinery pathways with biofuels production for the recovery of value-added products (such as antioxidants, natural dyes, cosmetics, nutritional supplements, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and so forth) could substantially reduce the production costs. It also paves the way for sustainable energy resources by significantly reducing the emissions of CO2 , NOx , SOx , and heavy metals. Large-scale biofuels production has yet to be successfully commercialized with many roadblocks ahead and heavy competition with conventional fuel feedstock as well as technological aspects. One of the prominent challenges is to develop a cost-effective method to achieve high-density microalgal cultivation on an industrial scale. The biofuels industry should be boosted by Government's support in the form of subsidies and incentives, for addressing the pressing climate change issues, achieving sustainability, and energy security.
    Matched MeSH terms: Biofuels/economics*
  11. Hall SJ, Hilborn R, Andrew NL, Allison EH
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2013 May 21;110(21):8393-8.
    PMID: 23671089 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1208067110
    This article examines two strands of discourse on wild capture fisheries; one that focuses on resource sustainability and environmental impacts, another related to food and nutrition security and human well-being. Available data and research show that, for countries most dependent on fish to meet the nutritional requirements of their population, wild capture fisheries remain the dominant supplier. Although, contrary to popular narratives, the sustainability of these fisheries is not always and everywhere in crisis, securing their sustainability is essential and requires considerable effort across a broad spectrum of fishery systems. An impediment to achieving this is that the current research and policy discourses on environmental sustainability of fisheries and food security remain only loosely and superficially linked. Overcoming this requires adoption of a broader sustainability science paradigm to help harness synergies and negotiate tradeoffs between food security, resource conservation, and macroeconomic development goals. The way society chooses to govern fisheries is, however, an ethical choice, not just a technical one, and we recommend adding an ethical dimension to sustainability science as applied to fisheries.
    Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries/economics*
  12. Mat Rifin H, Rodzlan Hasani WS, Ling MYJ, Robert Lourdes TG, Saminathan TA, Ab Majid NL, et al.
    Syst Rev, 2020 01 13;9(1):13.
    PMID: 31931868 DOI: 10.1186/s13643-019-1263-6
    BACKGROUND: Small/kiddie cigarette packs consist of less than 20 cigarette sticks. Kiddie packs were recently proposed to be reintroduced by the tobacco industry with an excuse to prevent consumers from buying illicit cigarettes. By reintroducing kiddie packs, cigarettes will inevitably be more affordable and this would appeal to lower-income consumers especially teens. In this systematic review, we aimed to identify the impact of kiddie packs on smoking, specifically on smoking initiation, the urge/tendency to buy cigarettes and attempts to reduce cigarette consumption.

    METHODS: This systematic review will be based on the review of original articles on the impact of kiddie packs on smoking. There is no restriction on the publication dates. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Scopus will be searched to retrieve potential original articles. Additional records identified through other sources: Google Scholar, as well as Journal of Substance Use and Tobacco Control, are also to be searched. These will include original articles in any language which included all study designs (randomised controlled trials, quasi experimental and experimental studies, observational cross-sectional and cohort studies) comparing kiddie packs with regular cigarette packs. The primary outcomes of interest will be initiation of smoking and urge/tendency to buy cigarettes in the general population and attempts to reduce cigarette consumption among current smokers. Secondary outcomes will be the prevalence of smoking using kiddie packs among the current smokers.

    DISCUSSION: This systematic review will provide evidence to support the impact of kiddie packs on smoking in terms of smoking initiation, smoking prevalence, urge/tendency to purchase cigarettes and attempts to reduce cigarette consumption. The findings from this review could be helpful to policymakers in regulating kiddie packs to control the consumption of tobacco.

    SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42018102325.

    Matched MeSH terms: Consumer Behavior/economics*; Product Packaging/economics*; Marketing/economics*; Tobacco Products/economics
  13. Galaz V, Rocha J, Sánchez-García PA, Dauriach A, Roukny T, S Gaard J Rgensen P
    Lancet Planet Health, 2023 Dec;7(12):e951-e962.
    PMID: 38056966 DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00232-2
    BACKGROUND: Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (EIDs), such as Ebola virus disease and highly pathogenic influenza, are serious threats to human health and wellbeing worldwide. The financial sector has an important, yet often ignored, influence as owners and investors in industries that are associated with anthropogenic land-use changes in ecosystems linked to increased EIDs risks. We aimed to analyse financial influence associated with EIDs risks that are affected by anthropogenic land-use changes. We also aimed to provide empirical assessments of such influence to help guide engagements by governments, private organisations, and non-governmental organisations with the financial sector to advance a planetary health agenda.

    METHODS: For this integrative analysis, we identified regions in the world where there was evidence of a connection between EIDs and anthropogenic land-use changes between Nov 9, 1999, and Oct 25, 2021, through a targeted literature review of academic literature and grey literature to identify evidence of drivers of anthropogenic land-use change and their association with commodity production in these regions. We only included publications in English that showed a connection between deforestation and the production of one or more commodities. Publications merely describing spatial or temporal land-use change dynamics (eg, a reduction of forest or an increase of palm-oil plantations) were excluded. As we were assessing financial influence on corporate activities through ownership specifically, we focused our analysis on publicly listed companies. Equity data and data about ownership structure were extracted from Orbis, a company information database. We assessed financial influence by identifying financial entities with the largest equity ownership, descriptively mapping transboundary connections between investors and publicly listed companies.

    FINDINGS: 227 public and private companies operating in five economic sectors (ie, production of palm oil, pulp and wood products, cocoa, soybeans, and beef) between Dec 15, 2020, and March 8, 2021, were identified. Of these 227, 99 (44%) were publicly listed companies, with 2310 unique shareholders. These publicly listed companies operated in six geographical regions, resulting in nine case-study regions. 54 (55%) companies with complete geographical information were included in the countries network. Four financial entities (ie, Dimensional, Vanguard, BlackRock, and Norway's sovereign wealth fund) each had ownership in 39 companies or more in three of the case-study regions (ie, north America, east Asia, and Europe). Four large US-based asset managers (ie, Vanguard, BlackRock, T Rowe Price, and State Street) were the largest owners of publicly listed companies in terms of total equity size, with ownership amounts for these four entities ranging from US$8 billion to $21 billion. The specific patterns of cross-national ownership depended on the region of interest; for example, financial influence on EIDs risks that was associated with commodity production in southeast and east Asia came from not only global asset managers but also Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean financial entities. India, Brazil, the USA, Mexico, and Argentina were the countries towards which investments were most directed.

    INTERPRETATION: Although commodity supply chains and financial markets are highly globalised, a small number of investors and countries could be viewed as disproportionally influential in sectors that increase EIDs risks. Such financial influence could be used to develop and implement effective policies to reduce ecological degradation and mitigate EIDs risks and their effects on population health.

    FUNDING: Formas and Networks of Financial Rupture-how cascading changes in the climate and ecosystems could impact on the financial sector.

    Matched MeSH terms: Organizations/economics; Ownership/economics; Private Sector/economics; Public Sector/economics
  14. Guindon GE, Driezen P, Chaloupka FJ, Fong GT
    Tob Control, 2014 Mar;23 Suppl 1:i13-22.
    PMID: 24227541 DOI: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2013-051074
    Decades of research have produced overwhelming evidence that tobacco taxes reduce tobacco use and increase government tax revenue. The magnitude and effectiveness of taxes in reducing tobacco use provide an incentive for tobacco users, manufacturers and others, most notably criminal networks, to devise ways to avoid or evade tobacco taxes. Consequently, tobacco tax avoidance and tax evasion can reduce the public health and fiscal benefit of tobacco taxes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crime/economics; Public Health/economics; Smoking/economics*; Taxes/economics*; Tobacco Industry/economics*; Tobacco Products/economics*
  15. Masum AK, Azad MA, Hoque KE, Beh LS
    PLoS One, 2015;10(7):e0121017.
    PMID: 26221727 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121017
    The paper aims to examine the influence of human resource management (HRM) practices on bank efficiency using Malmquist index of total factor productivity. The model comprises HRM index that represents the quality of HRM practices. The results are decomposed into three efficiency scores, namely, technical efficiency, pure efficiency, and scale efficiency. In this study, panel data for 44 banks in Bangladesh are used for the period 2008-2013. This paper reveals that foreign banks are ahead in converting the influence of HRM practices into efficiency scores (0.946>0.833). On the other hand, domestic banks performed better than foreign banks in terms of pure efficiency and scale efficiency. But, in terms of technical efficiency, the domestic banks are regressed by 6.7% annually whereas foreign banks are progressed with a yearly value of 5.8%. The results are robust, because the Mann-Whitney test and Kruskall-Wallis test (non-parametric tests) also confirm the same results. This study emphasizes HRM practices in the banking industry to ensure efficiency in the long-term scenario. Domestic banks are suggested to ensure continuous development in HRM practices in order to compete with foreign banks.
    Matched MeSH terms: Banking, Personal/economics*; Staff Development/economics*
  16. Fleming KA, Naidoo M, Wilson M, Flanigan J, Horton S, Kuti M, et al.
    Am J Clin Pathol, 2017 01 01;147(1):15-32.
    PMID: 28158414 DOI: 10.1093/ajcp/aqw143
    Objectives: We review the current status of pathology services in low- and middle-income countries and propose an “essential pathology package” along with estimated costs. The purpose is to provide guidance to policy makers as countries move toward universal health care systems.

    Methods: Five key themes were reviewed using existing literature (role of leadership; education, training, and continuing professional development; technology; accreditation, management, and quality standards; and reimbursement systems). A tiered system is described, building on existing proposals. The economic analysis draws on the very limited published studies, combined with expert opinion.

    Results: Countries have underinvested in pathology services, with detrimental effects on health care. The equipment needs for a tier 1 laboratory in a primary health facility are modest ($2-$5,000), compared with $150,000 to $200,000 in a district hospital, and higher in a referral hospital (depending on tests undertaken). Access to a national (or regional) specialized laboratory undertaking disease surveillance and registry is important. Recurrent costs of appropriate laboratories in district and referral hospitals are around 6% of the hospital budget in midsized hospitals and likely decline in the largest hospitals. Primary health facilities rely largely on single-use tests.

    Conclusions: Pathology is an essential component of good universal health care.

    Matched MeSH terms: Laboratories, Hospital/economics*; Pathology/economics*
  17. Goh CS, Ahl A, Woo WT
    Trends Biotechnol, 2021 01;39(1):1-4.
    PMID: 32546309 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.05.010
    Biotechnology will play a key role in transforming current land-use systems alongside the digital revolution by using five strategies: enhancing productivity at the farm or plantation level, replenishing degraded land, enabling landscape management for resilience, upgrading and diversifying downstream activities, and creating new value propositions.
    Matched MeSH terms: Agriculture/economics; Conservation of Natural Resources/economics
  18. Khan HH, Ahmad RB, Gee CS
    PLoS One, 2016;11(8):e0160452.
    PMID: 27490847 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160452
    In this study, we examine the role of market structure for growth in financially dependent industries from 10 emerging Asian economies over the period of 1995-2011. Our approach departs from existing studies in that we apply four alternative measures of market structure based on structural and non-structural approaches and compare their outcomes. Results indicate that higher bank concentration may slow down the growth of financially dependent industries. Bank competition on the other hand, allows financially dependent industries to grow faster. These findings are consistent across a number of sensitivity checks such as alternative measures of financial dependence, institutional factors (including property rights, quality of accounting standards and bank ownership), and endogeneity consideration. In sum, our study suggests that financially dependent industries grow more in more competitive/less concentrated banking systems. Therefore, regulatory authorities need to be careful while pursuing a consolidation policy for banking sector in emerging Asian economies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Banking, Personal/economics*; Industry/economics*
  19. Sufyan M, Abd Rahim N, Tan C, Muhammad MA, Sheikh Raihan SR
    PLoS One, 2019;14(2):e0211642.
    PMID: 30763331 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211642
    The incessantly growing demand for electricity in today's world claims an efficient and reliable system of energy supply. Distributed energy resources such as diesel generators, wind energy and solar energy can be combined within a microgrid to provide energy to the consumers in a sustainable manner. In order to ensure more reliable and economical energy supply, battery storage system is integrated within the microgrid. In this article, operating cost of isolated microgrid is reduced by economic scheduling considering the optimal size of the battery. However, deep discharge shortens the lifetime of battery operation. Therefore, the real time battery operation cost is modeled considering the depth of discharge at each time interval. Moreover, the proposed economic scheduling with battery sizing is optimized using firefly algorithm (FA). The efficacy of FA is compared with other metaheuristic techniques in terms of performance measurement indices, which are cost of electricity and loss of power supply probability. The results show that the proposed technique reduces the cost of microgrid and attain optimal size of the battery.
    Matched MeSH terms: Electric Power Supplies/economics*; Solar Energy/economics*
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links