DOES ZAKAT MATTER FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT? AN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA

I.K. Balyanda AKMAL

Postgraduate Student in Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia

balyanda@gmail.com

M. Shabri Abd. MAJID

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia

Corresponding author

mshabri@unsyiah.ac.id

Eddy GUNAWAN

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia

egunawan@unsyiah.ac.id

Abstract

This study aims to empirically measure and analyze the contribution zakat to human development and, consequently towards the achievement of the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) program in Indonesia. Specifically, this study intends to measure the differences in the Human Development Index (HDI) of zakat recipients before and after receiving zakat and measure the effect of zakat on the HDI and its components. The response to these issues, the study estimates the value of the Human Development Index (HDI) at a minor level; the individual and household levels. 100 recipients of zakat (mustahik) from the three programs of zakat distribution by the zakat institution of Aceh Province, Indonesia (Baitul Mal Aceh – BMA) were selected as the sample of the study using a combination of purposive and proportionate stratified random samplings. These zakat programs include zakat for cancer and thalassemia patients, zakat for one family one undergraduate scholarship, and zakat for buying working capital for the poor families. The paired t-test is adopted to assess the differences in HDI of zakat recipients before and after receiving zakat, while the multiple linear regression is used to measure the effect of zakat on the HDI and its components. The study found that, after receiving zakat, the HDI of zakat recipients is higher than before. Zakat is also recorded to have a significant positive effect on the HDI, while the family size affected negatively the HDI and the types of zakat and profession of zakat recipients have an insignificant effect on the HDI. These findings suggest the positive role of zakat in improving human development and it could be used as one of the instruments to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs agenda in Indonesia.

Keywords: Education, Health, Human Development, Welfare, Zakat

JEL classification: D64, O15, Q01, I15, I25, I38

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SPATIALLY INDUCED EFFECTS AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES: IMPLICATIONS FOR ZONES IN PAKISTAN UNDER CHINA PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR

Ayesha KHAN

Chair in Maritime Business and Logistics, University of Bremen, Germanyn, Max-von-Laue-Straße 1, 28359, Bremen and Germany

ayesha@uni-bremen.de

h.c. Hans-Dietrich HAASIS

Chair in Maritime Business and Logistics, University of Bremen, Germany, Max-von-Laue-Straße 1, 28359, Bremen and Germany

hdhaasis@gmx.de

Abstract

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the Belt and Road Initiative projects. Nine special economic zones (SEZs) are proposed under the CPEC and the aim of establishing SEZs is to support and promote local industry as well as other dimensions such as improving energy generation and political stability in Pakistan. The CPEC will facilitate close proximity and collaboration between Pakistan and China, Pakistan can learn from China’s successful experience in SEZs. As this concept zone is ‘regional’ in itself, it is important to analyze this policy from the point of the “New economic geography” theory. This paper explores the existing literature on SEZs in order to identify the role of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the perspective of spatially induced effects of a zone and their implications for SEZs under the CPEC.

Keywords: Special economic zones (SEZs), Sustainability; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), China Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), spatially induced effects; geographical agglomeration

JEL classification: R12, R11

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TERRITORIAL DIFFERENTIATION OF LABOR AS A FACTOR IN THE SUSTAINABILITY OF REGIONAL ECONOMIES

Lidia S. ARKHIPOVA

PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, Department of National and Regional Economics, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow, Russia

lidia.arkhipova@mail.ru

Abstract

One of the factors influencing the sustainability of economic processes is the level of labor force territorial differentiation across the country. In locations with high employment rate among the working-age population, as a rule, the indicators of economic efficiency and sustainability are high. The outflow of labor, in its turn, contributes to a shortage of personnel, a reduction in production and an influx of migrants. Therefore, despite the replaceability of the labor force by robotics and digital technologies, for Russia with its vast space, studying the consequences of interregional inequality can identify strategic areas for economic development. Thus, the purpose of the research is to assess the degree of inter-regional inequality in the provision of the country’s regions with labor as one of the economic sustainability factors. The study of territorial inequalities in the economic space promotes the understanding of the importance of the strategic tasks in economic development of a complex, subordinate and multicomponent regional system of the Russian Federation. The processes of territorial inequality are greatly influenced by the migration flows, expressed in the outflow of the population mainly from the eastern regions. Significant migrations are common among rural migrants from the Far Eastern, Siberian and Urals Federal Districts. Therefore, the main influx of migrants is characteristic of the Central, North-Western and Southern districts. The contribution of the present research to economic science consists in justifying the prioritized support and development of the territories that are losing population and, accordingly, labor force.

Keywords: region (RF subject), territorial differentiation, labor force, development factors.

JEL classification: R23, J610

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