This study investigates the impact of Malaysia’s capital market and other key determinants on Economic Growth from the period of 1988 to 2012. The key determinants studied are foreign direct investment and real interest rate. This study also examines the long run and short run relationship between the economic growth and capital market, foreign direct investment, and real interest rate by using bound testing cointegration of Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and Error Correction Model (ECM) version of ARDL model. The empirical results of the study suggest that there is long- run cointegration among the capital market, foreign direct investment, real Interest rate and economic growth. The result also suggests that capital market and real interest rate have positive impact on economic growth in the short run and long run. Foreign direct investment does not show positive impact on economic growth in the short run but it does in the long run.

Firms can use working capital management which is one of the essential determinants to influence their profitability. The main theme of present study is to investigate the relationship between working capital management and profitability of Tobacco Industry of Pakistan. This study is based on secondary data collected from financial statements of selected companies of Tobacco Industry of Pakistan for the period of 2005-2014. For data analysis, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Correlation analysis is used to check the relationship between the variables, while multiple regression analysis is used to examine the effects of working capital management on profitability of firms. The result reveals that there is a strong negative relationship between variables of working capital management and profitability of Tobacco Industry of Pakistan. This means that as the cash conversion cycle increases, it will lead to declining of firm profitability and managers can create a positive value for shareholders by reducing the cash conversion cycle at optimal level. The study concludes that managers can create value for shareholders by managing the working capital well designed and implemented, and by keeping each components of it at optimal level.

Although the microfinance sector in Bangladesh is mainly driven by Non-Governmental-Organizations (NGOs), there are other types of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) that also provide financial services to the poor. Despite the criticism of microfinance programs, the current poverty situation in Bangladesh still requires such programs for consistently battling poverty. Hence, the aim of this paper is to profile the microfinance sector based on their legal status and investigate any possible differences (if any) between them in various aspects. After a thorough investigation of the sector, it was found that around 33 million of the clients are being served by the mainstream MFIs (NGO and Grameen Bank) while another 10-15 million clients are served by other types of MFIs (financial cooperatives, credit unions, various ministries etc.), accounting for the one-third of the total population in Bangladesh. While the mainstream MFIs basically works with poor, other categories of MFIs are concerned with relatively wealthy clients. Looking into the financial performance and social intermediation of the MFIs, the NGO-MFIs performed better than other types of MFIs in the sector.

This study empirically evaluates the impact of exchange rate volatility, foreign direct investment, terms of trade, inflation, and industrial production and foreign exchange reserves on Pakistani trade volume over the period of 1975-2010 using quarterly data set. The study employs financial econometrics methods such as Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test GARCH (1, 1) technique and Almon Polynomial Distributed Lag (APDL) models to estimate the relationship of variables. Findings of the study are in accordance with theoretical relationships presented by Clark, Tamirisa, Wei, Sadikov, & Zeng (2004), McKenzie (1999), Dellas & Zilberfarb (1993) and Côté (1994). These findings are also in accordance with the empirical studies which support positive relationship of exchange rate volatility and exports presented by Hsu & Chiang (2011), Chit (2008), Feenstra & Kendall (1991), Esquivel & Larraín (2002) and Onafowora & Owoye (2008). Findings of the study in terms of imports are supported by the studies such as Lee (1999), Alam & Ahmad (2011) and Arize (1998). The study also recommends some very important policy prescriptions.

Since World War II nations have formed alliances for reasons of security and trade. Countries have seen international integration as an appropriate approach to resolving domestic and international political issues, improving their welfare by both transforming their infrastructures and increasing their foreign trade. While the majority of these relationships are straightforward d Turkey’s relationship with the European Union is more complex due to differences in religion and, at times, political ideology from other Union members. As a candidate country Turkey has made advances towards the full membership of the European Union with the customs union being the most significant. The impact of customs union membership is discussed and the effects of the customs union on Turkey’s trade and economy are examined from a perspective of different economic theories.

The aim of this study is to examine of the cluster approach to ensure high rates of innovation, information and communication enterprises of information technology cluster in order to enhance the competitiveness of regions. Keeping with the previous literature, the present research determined that the novelty of the problem, concerning of the creation IT clusters as drivers of new generation, i.e. a kind of platform of "startup accelerators" through the creation of previously not existing in the country high-tech industries and sectors of the economy. The study employs system approach involves to determine prospective directions of the formation of clusters of IT industry, also applies structured approach to shows relationships between elements of cluster systems (participants of cluster), as well as focusing on some aspects of cluster development such as networking. Based on this analysis we have proposed to create clusters in regions, which can play the role of translator’s innovations at the periphery of the country. This research shows that formation of IT clusters is one of the most successful tools to avoid of dependence of Kazakhstan from raw materials.

Dynamic changes in the field of labor relations have become a general trend in the world practice. These changes are due the impact of globalization and technological innovation above all. Concept of "precarization of employment" appeared due the new emerging labor relations. This term has been used for more than thirty-five years, but there is still no generally accepted definition of it. A wide range of authors’ viewpoints on problem of precarization makes it vague and impossible to strictly to identify its borders. Features of its manifestations in different countries also complicate the problem. Kazakhstan is a country with export-oriented economy of raw materials. At the same time government try to solve the problem for the industrial-innovative development of the economy. These two factors bring additional specific features in the manifestation of the precarization of employment in the country. The aim of the paper is to identify the features of "precarization of employment" concept in Kazakhstan's practice, based on the proposed definition.

The paper explores determinants of corporate adoption of social media and the role of technology acceptance model in the path. This paper assimilates some components of the technology acceptance dimension and social expectation theories to determine corporate intentions to use social media. Six hundred and forty-eight samples collected from hotel staff in Korea are analyzed using factor analysis, structural equation model techniques and one-way analysis of variance. The results show that corporate needs, social expectations, ease of use and usefulness should be viewed as important antecedents explaining the firm’s behavioral intention to use social media. The study also finds that the ease of use and usefulness of the technology acceptance model have positive directional mediation effects in the path diagram.