Regional Income Disparity In Malaysia: Is Sabah Converging, Catching-Up With Or Falling Behind Other States In Malaysia?

Whether poor economies tend to converge towards rich ones or else to diverge over time is an issue that has attracted the attention of policymakers and academics alike for some decades. Economic convergence or divergence is a topic of considerable interest and debate, not only for validating or othe...

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Main Authors: Muzafar, Shah Habibullah, Dayang Affizzah, Awang Marikan, Lim, Kian-Ping
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UMS 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/18342/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/18342/7/REGIONAL%20INCOME%20DISPARITY%20IN%20MALAYSIA%20%28abstract%29.pdf
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author Muzafar, Shah Habibullah
Dayang Affizzah, Awang Marikan
Lim, Kian-Ping
author_facet Muzafar, Shah Habibullah
Dayang Affizzah, Awang Marikan
Lim, Kian-Ping
author_sort Muzafar, Shah Habibullah
building UNIMAS Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Whether poor economies tend to converge towards rich ones or else to diverge over time is an issue that has attracted the attention of policymakers and academics alike for some decades. Economic convergence or divergence is a topic of considerable interest and debate, not only for validating or otherwise the two leading and competing growth models (the neoclassical and the endogenous growth approaches) but also for its policy-oriented implications. In Malaysia, the issue of economic convergence is also much debated. Despite the various Malaysia Plans for the past three decades, regional disparity between states remains. Thus, the objective of the present paper is to address the question whether the state of Sabah has been converging, catching-up or falling behind the other states in Malaysia. Using annual data for the period 1965 to 2003, our univariate unit root test result suggest that the state of Sabah has been catching-up with other states except with the state of Terengganu. In this respect, the local government has an important role to play in enhancing growth by providing stable economic environment for investment and other productive economic activities. This will ensure convergence can take place in the future.
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spelling unimas-183422023-03-23T07:22:37Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/18342/ Regional Income Disparity In Malaysia: Is Sabah Converging, Catching-Up With Or Falling Behind Other States In Malaysia? Muzafar, Shah Habibullah Dayang Affizzah, Awang Marikan Lim, Kian-Ping HB Economic Theory Whether poor economies tend to converge towards rich ones or else to diverge over time is an issue that has attracted the attention of policymakers and academics alike for some decades. Economic convergence or divergence is a topic of considerable interest and debate, not only for validating or otherwise the two leading and competing growth models (the neoclassical and the endogenous growth approaches) but also for its policy-oriented implications. In Malaysia, the issue of economic convergence is also much debated. Despite the various Malaysia Plans for the past three decades, regional disparity between states remains. Thus, the objective of the present paper is to address the question whether the state of Sabah has been converging, catching-up or falling behind the other states in Malaysia. Using annual data for the period 1965 to 2003, our univariate unit root test result suggest that the state of Sabah has been catching-up with other states except with the state of Terengganu. In this respect, the local government has an important role to play in enhancing growth by providing stable economic environment for investment and other productive economic activities. This will ensure convergence can take place in the future. UMS 2009 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/18342/7/REGIONAL%20INCOME%20DISPARITY%20IN%20MALAYSIA%20%28abstract%29.pdf Muzafar, Shah Habibullah and Dayang Affizzah, Awang Marikan and Lim, Kian-Ping (2009) Regional Income Disparity In Malaysia: Is Sabah Converging, Catching-Up With Or Falling Behind Other States In Malaysia? Labuan Bulletin of International Business & Finance, 7. pp. 1-12. ISSN 1675-7262 http://wwwkal.ums.edu.my/lbibf/
spellingShingle HB Economic Theory
Muzafar, Shah Habibullah
Dayang Affizzah, Awang Marikan
Lim, Kian-Ping
Regional Income Disparity In Malaysia: Is Sabah Converging, Catching-Up With Or Falling Behind Other States In Malaysia?
title Regional Income Disparity In Malaysia: Is Sabah Converging, Catching-Up With Or Falling Behind Other States In Malaysia?
title_full Regional Income Disparity In Malaysia: Is Sabah Converging, Catching-Up With Or Falling Behind Other States In Malaysia?
title_fullStr Regional Income Disparity In Malaysia: Is Sabah Converging, Catching-Up With Or Falling Behind Other States In Malaysia?
title_full_unstemmed Regional Income Disparity In Malaysia: Is Sabah Converging, Catching-Up With Or Falling Behind Other States In Malaysia?
title_short Regional Income Disparity In Malaysia: Is Sabah Converging, Catching-Up With Or Falling Behind Other States In Malaysia?
title_sort regional income disparity in malaysia: is sabah converging, catching-up with or falling behind other states in malaysia?
topic HB Economic Theory
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/18342/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/18342/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/18342/7/REGIONAL%20INCOME%20DISPARITY%20IN%20MALAYSIA%20%28abstract%29.pdf