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This study explores factors affecting debt level among young adults in Malaysia. Previous studies have linked material values, money management skills, and economic factors to credit card debt and student debt, but this study extends the previous research by investigating various forms of consumers' debt in an emerging market where vulnerable youths are frequently bombarded with materialistic media messages that trigger their spending behaviour. In particular, variables such as pursuits of materialistic attitudes, money management attributes, and income level are examined in this study to see whether they are predictors of youth debt in Malaysia. A self-administered survey on 629 respondents centered around northern part of Malaysia was conducted based on convenience and judgmental sampling techniques.The findings suggest that money management skills and income level significantly influence the debt level of Malaysian young adults. Interestingly, materialism variable is insignificant, implying that young Malaysians represented in this sample do not possess materialistic attitude that lead to indebtness. The findings provide insights to the policy maker and the government to inculcate awareness of basic money management skills to ensure that the younger generation does not fall into the state of excessive debt which could lead to financial insolvency.

Purpose This paper aims to construct a model procedure to mitigate housing glut by using both qualitative and quantitative approach. The model applied in the Malaysian context analyzes the following: information contained in media articles and reports issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on the housing market to extract the true picture of the housing glut issue; the relative impact (effectiveness) of housing affordability, housing prices and economic growth in influencing housing glut, and how it can be overcome so that appropriate preferential policies can be taken to mitigate the problem. Design/methodology/approach This study uses quarterly data from 2000 to 2017 to conduct economic analysis, economic theory analysis and cointegrating regression, whereas information from media-published housing articles and reports issued by BNM are examined and interpreted to draw the true picture of housing glut. Findings The results obtained from quantitative analysis show that housing affordability exerts very mild relative effect (0.0097) negatively on housing glut, whereas economic growth and housing price produce a relatively mild positive impact of (0.020) and (0.022), respectively, conflicting to the common consensus that the two factors have a significant effect on housing glut. Qualitatively, the results of this study show that housing glut seems to be relatively larger for affordable housing, which is contrary to the quantitative results, pointing to the existence of other influencing factors. Research limitations/implications There is an imperative need for a third-party survey to gain a comprehensive understanding of the market conditions and buyers’ sentiment and preference. Originality/value This study compares both quantitative and qualitative results with expected housing market movements and responses based on conventional wisdom.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of International Accounting Standard 39 (IAS 39) on income-smoothing activities and pro-cyclical behavior through loan loss provisions using a sample of Hong Kong banks. Design/methodology/approach Fixed effects estimator is used, and the analysis covers the period from 2000 to 2009. Findings The results suggest that Hong Kong banks engage less in income-smoothing activity after they comply with the IAS 39. No evidence supports loan loss provisions of Hong Kong banks exhibiting more pro-cyclical behavior after IAS 39 adoption. Research limitations/implications Compliance with IAS 39 should improve the quality of bank financial reporting. The reduction in income-smoothing activities among Hong Kong banks after IAS 39 adoption fairly supports the effectiveness of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) and countries that have yet to comply with IFRS may take action to apply the standards. Bank regulators should take pro-active action in addressing the issue of pro-cyclicality of loan loss provisions, as IAS 39 focuses more on improving the financial information quality, while pro-cyclicality is associated with the economic cycles. Originality/value Hong Kong banking industry is unique, as it was among the first IFRS adopters in the East Asia region and it has its own legal framework for developing accounting standards. The results of this study are expected to shed some light on the effects of IAS 39 adoption on income smoothing and pro-cyclicality of banks in the East Asia region, where the accounting cultural value dimensions and institutional structures are different than that of European countries.

PurposeThe objective of this study is to examine the sociodemographic factors that are associated with health care expenditure among households in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines health care participation decision and amount of expenditure using the exponential Type 2 Tobit model. A dataset of a large sample (n = 14,838) that is nationally representative is used.FindingsThe results suggest that household size, location of residence as well as age, education and marital status of the household heads are significantly associated with household expenditure on health care. Health care expenditure increases with the age and educational attainment of household heads, whereas those who are being employed and residing in rural areas have lower health care expenditure. Although larger households are more likely to consume health care than smaller households, they spend less on health care. Furthermore, marital status does not affect the participation decision of health care expenditure, but the variable is associated with the decision on the amount of the expenditure.Practical implicationsThe results provide insights into groups of population that can be targeted for healthcare intervention programmes and policy design.Originality/valueThis study is the first to our knowledge to use a microeconometric approach to analyse the health care participation as well as its level of expenditure among households in Malaysia.