We discuss the reasons for the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Malaysia, its subsequent abolition, and the factors to consider if it is to be reinstated. The GST was implemented hastily to rein in mounting government deficits and debt. The lack of preparation to address its impact on the general price level, and incomes of poorer households in an economy already predisposed to inflation, led to widespread public discontent. The high compliance costs borne by smaller firms, delays in providing tax refunds to businesses, and the wasteful use of the additional revenues the tax generated strengthened the anti-GST sentiment. Any attempt to bring back the GST must focus on gaining acceptance rather than the revenue it generates. This is best achieved by timing its reintroduction correctly, keeping the rate low, the base broad, and implementing parallel measures to supplement the incomes of households seriously undermined by the tax on the consumption side. Additionally, addressing leakages, waste, and corruption in the public sector will strengthen public acceptance of the tax and instill confidence in public sector fiscal management.

Minority communities frequently draw upon voluntary donations to support their unique needs and giving prominent recognition to donors is a widely used strategy, although anonymous donors are not uncommon. Studies in the West suggest that consequentialists (those concerned with the overall benefit from the outcomes, including to themselves) value the recognition gained by engaging in pro-social behavior. Deontologists, or those holding to values that stress right conduct, would engage in pro-social behavior even without recognition. The latter values parallel principles espoused in Eastern thought. What would be the optimal strategy to maximize donations from both groups? Using the methods of experimental economics, we examined the effect of observability on pro-sociality, and the interaction of moral judgment and observability on the cooperative behavior of participants in a Public Good game. The finding shows that participants who felt they were being observed made significantly higher contributions to the public pool as compared to those who felt anonymous, regardless of the values they professed. This validates the strategy of promising recognition to donors used by Asian immigrant communities because it motivates those who value recognition to donate, and prods those who give without recognition to donate more than they otherwise would.

The manufacturing sector is a major avenue for female employment in the urban labor market in Malaysia. Only two studies, both published more than two decades ago, have examined gender earning differentials in this sector. Since then, the percentage of women being educated has increased, along with their participation rate, and several laws protecting their rights have also been passed, making it timely to re-examine the earnings gap. We do this by drawing on more recent data from a larger representative survey of manufacturing employees. The Blinder-Oaxaca technique, utilized in the previous two studies, was used to estimate the existing earnings gap and to decompose it to differences attributable to endowments, coefficients (traditionally viewed as subsuming discrimination), and the interaction between the two. We found a smaller gap than previously reported, with better female endowments helping to narrow the gap, and unexplained differences in coefficients being responsible for the remaining gap. The interaction effect was not statistically significant. Contrary to the earlier studies, the differential treatment of women in the manufacturing sector, rather than endowment differences, is hampering the equalization of earnings. This calls for newer approaches to closing the earnings gap.

The civil service pension scheme (CSPS) in Malaysia is a defined benefit (DB), non-contributory system directly funded from the budget. An aging population, rising life expectancy, and ballooning pension payments underscore the need for reform. An annual pension deficit model was used to estimate the pension deficit over a period of 75 years under eight scenarios that compare the current scheme with changes in the pension deficit when three policy variables—retirement age, contribution rate, and replacement rate—are manipulated. We found the current scheme will not be financially sustainable. By increasing the retirement age, introducing employee contributions, and reducing the replacement rate, it is possible to delay the emergence of deficits and lengthen the period of sustainability of the scheme. However, a radical makeover is necessary to be fully sustainable and this might not be politically feasible.

This paper develops a dynamic equilibrium model of overlapping generations to study the effect of an introduction of a retail sales tax (RST) in China. Total government tax revenue is fixed, consumption-type value-added tax (VAT) is reduced in response to the introduction of RST, and an output tax exists. An introduction of RST accompanied by a decrease in VAT increases capital accumulation and welfare in the steady state. In the transition period, an introduction of RST accompanied by a decrease in VAT increases capital accumulation but decreases the current generation's welfare. Simulations based on the data from China show that introducing an 8 percent RST increases capital accumulation by 0.43 percent in the steady state.

A bribe-giving function was tested for Malaysia using data on 449 convicted bribe givers. Both the size of bribes and the probability of paying a large bribe were found to be positively and significantly associated with the size of fines and length of imprisonment avoided through bribery. Both the size of bribes and the probability of paying a large bribe increased with fines for bribery, however, but decreased with length of imprisonment. Our findings suggest that a reduction in human involvement in apprehending bribe givers, stricter enforcement, higher conviction rates, and more severe punishments could discourage bribes.

We categorized innovating firms in an ascending order as adopters, adapters, and creators to examine factors motivating these activities. For small firms, creation and adaption were significantly correlated with export orientation, engaging in collaborative research and development (R&D), receiving technical support from outside agencies, gaining technology from parent establishments, and supplying parts to multinationals. For medium-sized firms, R&D incentives, collaborative research, and accessing technology from parent plants were significant. Adoption in small firms was associated with export exposure and operating for 11 years or more. R&D incentives, collaborative research, and technology transfer from parent plants were negatively related to adoption in medium-sized firms.