Gig Economy Sector in the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025)

"The Malaysian government will be focusing on the gig economy sector as one of the new sources of economic growth in the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (RMP12), which will outline the country’s economic development plan for the next five years between 2021 and 2025. The RMP12 will be based on shared prosperity initiative."

https://www.orissa-international.com/business-news/gig-economy-to-be-emphasized-in-twelfth-malaysia-plan/

Book Review on Gig Economy

Excerpt:

"In The Gig Economy: A Critical Introduction, Jamie Woodcock and Mark Graham unpack the ‘how’ of the gig economy through quantative datasets and ethnographic vignettes from countries including the UK, Ghana, South Africa and India. As the study doubles up as a manifesto for the gig economy’s reconstruction, this is an important contribution to the existing literature that provides an excellent summary of existing research and builds on it using extensive fieldwork, writes Krishna Akhil Kumar Adavi." 

The Gig Economy: A Critical Introduction. Jamie Woodcock and Mark Graham. Polity. 2019.

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/07/26/book-review-the-gig-economy-a-critical-introduction-by-jamie-woodcock-and-mark-graham/

Measuring Digital Trade

 OECD. WTO. IMF. Handbook on Measuring Digital Trade. What are you waiting for? Dig in. ^__^

https://www.oecd.org/sdd/its/Handbook-on-Measuring-Digital-Trade-Version-1.pdf

Policy Tool-Kits During Covid-Led Period

An article from IMF Blog on Policy Tools necessary to fight the pandemic. In preparing for Budget 2021, it is important to consider all angles. While short-term solutions are imperative, the long-term outlook is equally important. Don't lose the jungle for the tree.

https://blogs.imf.org/2020/10/23/emerging-and-frontier-markets-policy-tools-in-times-of-financial-stress/

CBDC Malaysia - From Monetary Perspective

Staff Insight Paper from Bank Negara Malaysia, published in 2017.

https://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=en_publication&pg=en_staffinsight&ac=45&bb=file

USA vs. China Digital Currency War

Who will win?

Excerpt:

"The U.S. is likely to be defeated if it competes with China on the mere technology side. Ultimately, In order to gain a competitive hedge, the U.S. needs to offer what an authoritarian regime like China cannot offer, which is privacy-focused, censorship- resistant digital currency.

To do so, the U.S. should join forces with the crypto community and empower those crypto networks codifying democratic values.

“The best way for them [the U.S] to compete is to actually embrace the best features of cryptocurrency and really push these as sort of an offensive tool against the Chinese.” 

HIghest Paying Gig Jobs in South East Asia

Most of the high paid jobs are technology related. Time to learn new skills, especially for those entering 30s and 40s age bracket, because the highly paid freelancers are professionals with skills and experiences. How do the freelancers get hired? Another Survey says the top two reasons are based on previous clients and words-of-mouth. 

Full story in the article below:

https://seads.as/highest-paying-jobs-as-a-freelancer-in-southeast-asia/

Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)

 The United States's Job Quality Index stood at 82.93% as at October 2, 2020. 

https://www.jobqualityindex.com/

About the JQI (Taken from the website)

"The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI) assesses job quality in the United States by measuring desirable higher-wage/higher-hour jobs versus lower-wage/lower-hour jobs. The JQI results also may serve as a proxy for the overall health of the U.S. jobs market, since the index enables month-by-month tracking of the direction and degree of change in high-to-low job composition.

By tracking this information, policymakers and financial market participants can be more fully informed of past developments, current trends, and likely future developments in the absence of policy intervention. Economists and international organizations have in recent years developed other, complementary conceptions of job quality such as those addressing the emotional satisfaction employees derive from their jobs.

For the purposes of this JQI, “job quality” means the weekly dollar-income a job generates for an employee. Payment, after all, is a primary reason why people work: the income generated by a job being necessary to maintain a standard of living, to provide for the essentials of life and, hopefully, to save for retirement, among other things."

China Illustrates the K-Shaped Economy

A few days ago, I posted the article on the K-Shaped economy. The article below is a good example to illustrate how China's super rich has gotten richer during the pandemic. China is moving away from the manufacturing and real estate into the new economy. The silver lining during pandemic.

https://www.astroawani.com/berita-bisnes/chinas-super-rich-got-15-trillion-richer-during-pandemic-report-264520

Here is another article from the Bloomberg BusinessWeek that says China economy is leaving the bottom 60% behind. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-28/coronavirus-pandemic-china-is-experiencing-a-k-shaped-economic-recovery

Labor Law Protests in Jakarta, Indonesia

 An Excerpt from BBC News:

What does the law do?

In addition to removing red tape, the bill makes significant changes to Indonesia's labour regulations.

It abolishes the sectoral minimum wage, in favour of minimums set by regional governors.

It will reduce severance pay to a maximum of 19 months salary, depending on how long the employee has had the job. Previously the maximum was 32 months pay.

However, a new government fund will provide an additional six months pay to the newly unemployed.

Allowable overtime will be increased to a maximum of four hours in one day and 18 hours a week. Businesses will only be required to give workers one day off a week instead of two.

Restrictions on outsourcing have also been reduced, as have restrictions on the jobs in which expatriates can work.

The law also relaxes environmental standards, only forcing businesses to file an environmental impact analysis if their projects are considered high risk.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54460090

Latest Gig Eonomy Statistics

Informative site on the Gig Economy.  

https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/freelance-stats/

The K-Shape of Economic Recovery and Budget 2021 for Malaysia

I have been wondering about the Nike's swoosh-shaped economic recovery when I come across the new alphabet of K-shaped - a politician's vocabulary that enters the realm of economy. So many alphabets soups os the economic recovery. It is the shape that people remember, most people forget the remedial measurements.

Anyway, below is an article on the expectation of Budget 2021, one of the toughest in the history. Looking forward to how the policymakers are going to chart the growth trajectory.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/10/19/economist-say-budget-2021-to-focus-more-on-pump-priming-protecting-and-crea/1914210

Fed, the ECB and Japan on Rollout for Digital Currency

The article (in Malay) on Bitcoin. Seems like digital currency is a hot debated topic lately. In another article, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is confident that no digital currency, yuan included, will dominate the market. There are both pros and cons on the topic. Good to educate ourselves so that we can make informed decisions. 

On another development, an article in October said the Fed, ECB and BOJ are preparing rollout for digital currency. Excerpt below by the BOJ:

"Digitalization has advanced in various areas at home and abroad on the back of rapid development of information communication technology. There is a possibility of a surge in public demand for central bank digital currency (CBDC) going forward, considering the rapid development of technological innovation. While the Bank of Japan currently has no plan to issue CBDC, from the viewpoint of ensuring the stability and efficiency of the overall payment and settlement systems, the Bank considers it important to prepare thoroughly to respond to changes in circumstances in an appropriate manner."

https://intraday.my/bagaimana-covid-19-bakal-memberi-impak-terhadap-bitcoin-dalam-jangka-masa-panjang/

The Industries Blockchain Will Distrupt

Around 10 minutes video from the FutureThinkers explaining how blockchain will affect 19 industries. Read the comments as well because there are a few additional facts to be noted.

The Economics of Blockchain

A Short Video and a Long article. Written in July 2020. That is, if you are interested in the economics aspect.

https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2020/7/245703-some-simple-economics-of-the-blockchain/fulltext

A Snapshot on eRMB

A good write-up on 'DCEP' (^_^), China's digital currency, written in Indonesian Language. A bit of history here as well. From the time China has been planning to get into currency basket until the race towards issuing legal tender digital currency. The statistics on the domination of dollar in trade is also an eye-opening. According to the author, since China's contribution in international trade is approximately 2 percent, it has a long way to go in replacing dollar as an international currency, since dollar market share is 90 percent. Think of it this way. China has been researching on digital currency since 2014. It has a university that is dedicated to study every single language there is in the world. China built an entirely new hospital in 10 days. You think it is not possible? Think again!

http://catatanlepasnick.blogspot.com/2020/05/dampak-renminbi-digital.html

China's Digital Yuan

I am wondering if Sukuk cound be issued on digital currency. Will try to search for the article on that. Meanwhile, let's read the pioneering yuan digital currency. The researchers have been working on the issue for the past ten years. Beijing explore the concept in 2014. 

https://qz.com/1916695/heres-a-first-glimpse-of-chinas-digital-yuan/

Mankiw on Vaccines

Professor Mankiw wrote on the economic solutions to COVID-19 vaccines.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/business/pay-people-vaccine-coronavirus.html

Wakaf Buku

I have been keeping a few books of my friend, Herizzozani Kassim (Heri), for so many years now. I lost contact with him and have been asking around his whereabouts, but to no avail. Today, I wakaf  his books and mine to USIM's library. If anyone knows him, please let me know. I sincerely hope he wouldn't mind. 

Inequality and the Conduct of Monetary Policy

Interesting article from the IMF Blog. Targeting consumption inequality and at the same time fostering growth is a new angle that requires a re-look. 

https://blogs.imf.org/2020/09/30/monetary-policy-for-all-inequality-and-the-conduct-of-monetary-policy/

TAM, SAM & SOM

While reading the latest development in Gig industry, I come across the global market size (TAM) of gig-freelancer economy. After TAM, there is SAM and SOM, :)

12 Principles of Animation

I have always wanted to do animation. Here is a video with a good review. Enjoy.

3Doodler's 3D Toys With Mold

Dami Lee's, a webtoonist, article on 3Doodler and its latest product of 3D structures in midair. 

A simple Playdoh? How creative. Adaptable STEAM project. Watch the video.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/20/21135202/3doodler-3d-printer-build-play-toy-fair-2020

Economic Resilience - The Muamalat Newsletter

An article I wrote on Economic Resilience in 2019.

Pengawasan Kapitalisme

An interesting article (in Malay) in Tinta Minda, BERNAMA.

Excerpt:

"Adakah konsentrasi pemilikan data oleh syarikat teknologi yang menguasai pengetahuan dan kemahiran kecerdasan buatan (AI) akan melebarkan jurang pendapatan antara yang kaya dengan yang miskin?

Adakah negara kita bersedia untuk menghadapi satu masyarakat bersifat pengawasan kapitalisme dengan kebanyakan teknologi terkini dimilik syarikat teknologi gergasi dari luar negara?

Kesemua persoalan di atas perlu dijawab sebelum kita mengikuti jejak majoriti secara membuta tuli. Wacana positif dan optimistik yang diulangi terutamanya oleh negara-negara yang mempunyai kepentingan tersendiri dalam perkembangan teknologi yang terkini harus dinilai secara kritis dan berhati-hati."

https://www.bernama.com/bm/tintaminda/news.php?id=1886961

Europe's Economy and COVID-19

Here is the Excerpt from the article, written in August 2020:

"France's economy contracted by 13.8 per cent in the April-June quarter, mirroring similar devastation in Spain (18.5 per cent), Portugal (14.1 per cent) and Italy (12.4 per cent).

Europe as a whole saw gross domestic product (GDP) fall by 12.1 per cent in the eurozone and by 11.9 per cent across the Union bloc."

https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2020/08/613123/europes-economy-collapses-under-covid-19-strain

Latest Gig Statistics Malaysia - DOSM

Here is the latest Stat on Gig Economy in Malaysia. 2020 from the Department of Statistics (DOS).

IMF Working Papers

The Working Paper from the IMF, starting from 1986. I used to read them in mid-2000, during the PhD years.

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2019/04/26/The-Global-Economic-Recovery-10-Years-After-the-2008-Financial-Crisis-46711

Negative R-Squared

I am reviewing a few articles and come across a low value of R-Squared. Did some research and come across the following explanations. On negative R-Squared:

https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/12900/when-is-r-squared-negative

Mathematically possible if you constraint intercept and slope, but maybe "pathological."

On Influence and Leverage:

https://rpubs.com/rachitkinger/intro-to-diagnostics-multiple-regression

Here is the Q&A on the issue of low R-Squared. 

https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/12900/when-is-r-squared-negative

Literasi Media

The article in BERNAMA (in Malay), reminding us on the importance of media literacy.

https://www.bernama.com/bm/tintaminda/news.php?id=1877237 

Deepfake

Learning the R-Naught (R0) of the Pandemic - Harvard Global Health Institute

Who says Statistics are just numbers? For COVID-19, learning and understanding R0 is important.

An Excerpt from the Article:

"This highlights the inherent complexity and variability of outbreaks. R0 values can be helpful in gauging outbreak severity, but a high R0 value does not guarantee a world-wide spread, or a pandemic. It is a calculation of an average value that is based on estimates of averages. When early R0 values are produced, they should be circulated with care and guidance on how to interpret them. We have seen public alarm around R0 estimates with this current outbreak, which is exactly what we should aim to avoid."

https://globalhealth.harvard.edu/understanding-predictions-what-is-r-naught/

https://theconversation.com/r0-how-scientists-quantify-the-intensity-of-an-outbreak-like-coronavirus-and-predict-the-pandemics-spread-130777