The impact of socio-economic factors on the dynamics of social pressure in Kazakhstan

Poverty and income inequality are extreme issues that still exist in Malaysia. Any rise in poverty and income inequality definitely affect economic growth. There are many great efforts taken by the government of Malaysia to eradicate poverty and to reduce the gap of income inequality which occurs since 1970’s. The incidence of poverty and income inequality is higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. This paper is mainly to study the level of poverty and income inequality in Malaysia together with government intervention to develop Malaysia’s economic growth. The research is focused among the working people at Ipoh, Perak. In this paper, questionnaire forms are being distributed to get information regarding the issue of poverty and income inequality. It also looks into the strategies taken by the government of Malaysia to eradicate poverty and income inequality. Few recommendations are given in terms of education policy, financial aid and assistance from government and non-government organization (NGO) to upgrade the standard and quality of living among the poor and lower-income group of people.

This paper provides a study of the relationship between sustainable development and foreign direct investment (FDI) from an empirical point of view in the case of the North African countries during the period from 1985 to 2005. We use the cointegration test, the FMOLS (Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares) model and the Granger causality test to examine this relationship. According to the empirical results, we confirm the existence of a cointegration relationship between the different series studied in this paper. Based on the cointegration test we can use the error correction model. Also, to test the effect of FDI on sustainable development in the North African countries, we make an estimate by FMOLS method. We found that the foreign direct investment has a positive impact on CO2 emissions. Also, the Granger Causality test confirms the presence of a bidirectional relationship between FDI and CO2 emissions (Carbon dioxide). That is to say, the FDI can cause CO2 emissions and CO2 emissions can cause FDI based on the Granger causality.

Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) function in both the micro and macro environments, and are subject to internal and external forces in most economies. The monitoring of the external and internal factors and vital strategies by SMME owners and stakeholders including government and supporting institutions is necessary to attempt a reduction in their failure rates. Literature supports this proposition in the development of SMMEs.
The aim of this study was to analyze the environmental factors that result in a low rate of success and a high failure rate of SMMEs in Maseru the capital city of Lesotho. Primary data for this study was collected through questionnaires which were distributed to a sample of 250 SMMEs owners, however, only 180 respondents completed and returned questionnaires, which were then used for data analysis. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS21). The findings revealed that there still persists inadequacy in financial assistance and the need to develop a financial strategy by the state. Government key intervention is proposed to enable growth and development in a sector that sustains job creation and poverty reduction through financial strategy. Further research on how the sector establishes support is also proposed.