FWU Journal of Social Sciences

The External Debt and Economic Growth Conundrum: Evidence From 81 Countries

2025-04-24T05:50:59+00:00

Considering the rising external debt across countries, empirical research over the past twenty years of the twenty-first century has focused on the relationship between debt and growth. This study investigates the linear and nonlinear impact of external debt on economic growth for 81 highly indebted countries divided into three distinct groups based on the percentage of external debt (i.e., 50^th, 75^th, and 75^th+ percentiles) during the last decade for the period of 2008-2023. The panel data random effects model was employed to test the relationship. Data from WDI is used for the estimation of the models. The results show a highly significant and negative linear as well as nonlinear relationship across all three groups and the overall sample. The study also found that the impact of external debt gets stronger with an increase in the percentage from 50 to 75. The study concludes that external debt is a significant negative determinant of economic growth for an overall sample of 81 countries, as well as a distinct group of countries. The study recommends revenue mobilization and efficient debt management for the sample group of countries.

Unveiling Islamic Educational Values in Tembang Sorong Serah Aji Krame: A Cultural and Religious Perspective

2025-04-18T15:57:33+00:00

The Sorong Serah Aji Krame tradition represents a significant matrimonial custom within Lombok's Sasak community that embodies the synergistic relationship between Islamic values and indigenous cultural practices. This ethnographic study investigates how this traditional ceremony functions as an informal medium for Islamic moral education by transmitting embedded ethical values in its poetic form, Tembang Sorong Serah. Through extensive fieldwork conducted over four months in Montong Baan Selatan Village, data were collected from multiple sources, including in-depth interviews with eleven key informants, participant observation of five ceremonial events, and document analysis. Data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory methodology for coding and analysis. The study identifies nine core Islamic educational values transmitted through the tembang: hospitality, humility, courtesy, gratitude, deliberation, tolerance, cooperation, moral conduct, and religious piety. Findings demonstrate that oral tradition is a culturally contextualized vehicle for Islamic character formation, exemplifying the historical convergence between custom and shariah in Indonesian Muslim societies. The study contributes to understanding how indigenous pedagogy complements formal religious instruction and offers specific recommendations for cultural preservation, educational integration, and community engagement strategies. This research advances theoretical frameworks on situated learning within Islamic contexts and demonstrates how traditional rituals can effectively transmit moral values across generations despite modernization challenges.

Digital Public Service Ecosystems in Local Governance: Insights from Northeastern Thailand’s Administrative Organizations

2025-05-14T05:45:48+00:00

This study examines the digital public service ecosystems within Local Administrative Organizations (LAOs) in Northeastern Thailand, focusing on the factors that facilitate or hinder the adoption of key digital technologies. The research employs a qualitative design, involving in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 56 informants across 20 LAOs, to explore eight core elements of digital public services: regulatory frameworks, organizational structure, digital literacy, infrastructure, service activities, stakeholder collaborations, citizen engagement, and budget allocations. The findings indicate that while national policies and certain regulatory instruments provide an enabling environment, fragmented governance, constrained budgets, and insufficient human resource capacity persist as significant barriers to the adoption of sustainable digital practices. Larger municipalities demonstrate higher levels of digital integration and often have dedicated IT units, whereas smaller or resource-constrained LAOs struggle to deliver even basic e-services. Drawing on Digital Ecosystem Theory, this study proposes a dual strategy that combines top-down support—encompassing funding, policy directives, and legislative reforms—with bottom-up initiatives focused on local innovation, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and citizen-oriented approaches. This integrated model underscores that robust infrastructure and regulatory clarity alone are insufficient without parallel investments in institutional capacity-building and community outreach. The policy recommendations include establishing specialized IT units within LAOs, refining budgetary allocations for digital initiatives, and enhancing national-level coordination to optimize resource allocation.

Explaining Economic Growth Using Threshold Inflation and Factors from Growth Theories: Empirical Analysis of Pakistan

2025-05-06T06:53:15+00:00

The present study investigates the impact of threshold inflation on economic growth of Pakistan using factors from growth theories. The empirical analysis is based on data from 1973 to 2023. The study used threshold regression to estimate the threshold level of inflation. The estimated threshold levels are 9.3 and 9.6 percent for inflation computed from consumer price index and wholesale price index respectively. The estimates revealed that after reaching the threshold inflation level, labour force growth and trade act as Keynesian theory suggests but the role of money supply contradicts from the Monetarists theory. This study is foremost in using regression trees in the analysis of threshold inflation and growth. The analysis of regression trees indicates that inflation and money supply are the major determinants of the growth of economy. The study concludes inflation above the threshold level of inflation corresponds to very low levels of growth in the country. The study suggests keeping inflation below threshold for the sustainable growth of the country.

The Plight of Shia Hazaras in Balochistan, Pakistan: From Persecution to Resilience

2025-04-25T16:48:22+00:00

The Shia Hazara Community in Pakistan has faced prolonged violence, torture, discrimination, and harassment, which peaked notably from 1999 to 2015. Today, though the frequency of violent incidents has decreased, the Shia Hazara community continues to endure persistent threats, discrimination, and harassment, including sporadic targeted killings. This survey-based investigation draws upon 117 Hazara community members residing in two central localities (Hazara Town and Mariabad) of Quetta, Balochistan, to understand socio-economic discrimination and pervasive insecurity, the intricate interplay of ethnicity and religion, and additional influential factors that contribute to sustained persecution. In this investigation, besides descriptive statistics and visualization, authors utilize robust statistical techniques encompassing Chi-Squared tests for independence, testing independence for ordinal variables, counts, and rates. This study unearths compelling evidence revealing the profound extent of discrimination endured by the Hazara community in the public domain and the tenacious resistance strategies they harness to combat their subjugation.

Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Technology for Sustainable Education: A Qualitative Study in Pakistan

2025-04-28T06:02:01+00:00

This study aims to investigate undergraduate students' perceptions of the use of technology in education, focusing on accessibility, sustainability, usefulness, and the challenges it presents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 students from universities in Lahore, Pakistan, until data saturation was reached. The thematic analysis was conducted with NVivo software. The results showed that technology increases accessibility, engagement, and sustainability; however, digital inequities and overreliance on technology remain significant problems. Students know the benefits that can be gained through digital tools such as Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and other AI-driven platforms for collaborative and personalized learning. However, there are also perceived challenges, such as the disparity in high-speed internet and high-standard device accessibility, the availability of digital distractions, and the fear of technological servility that can prevent interaction with others and hinder critical thinking. Students recommended policies that promote equitable access, educator training, and piloting innovative tools to improve integration. These findings underscore the importance of adopting balanced approaches to technology use, which capitalize on its benefits while addressing challenges and fostering a more inclusive and effective educational practice program.

Drivers and Dynamics of Illegal Migration from Pakistan to Europe Post-2020

2025-05-12T09:50:03+00:00

This research delved into the complex phenomenon of illegal migration from Pakistan to Europe, aiming to uncover the underlying factors that drive individuals to embark on perilous journeys in search of a brighter future. Quantitative research gathered data from 500 illegal and potential migrants, enriched with insights from NGOs, government bodies, and community leaders. The findings reveal that economic instability, political turmoil, and social challenges are the primary catalysts for illegal migration. High unemployment, rampant inflation, and limited resources create a dire living situation for many, compelling them to seek opportunities abroad. Notably, young men aged 20-35 make up the majority of illegal migrants, driven by the pursuit of better employment prospects and improved living conditions. The study concludes with targeted policy recommendations, urging policymakers to focus on job creation, poverty alleviation, economic reforms, and political stability. The research suggests that by addressing these root causes, Pakistan can mitigate the pressures of illegal migration and foster safer, legal migration pathways for its citizens.

Analyzing Anomalies for Financial Fraud Detection: A Case Study of Selected Insurance Companies Listed in Borsa Istanbul

2025-06-02T05:30:24+00:00

This study aims to identify anomalies in the financial data of six leading insurance companies listed on Borsa Istanbul, Türkiye. Traditional anomaly detection methods like GARCH, ARIMA and moving averages have inherent limitations, including the requirement of stationarity, strict distributional assumptions and risks of model mis-specification. To address these issues, we employ four alternative risk measures, ie., Down-to-Up Volatility (DUV), Negative Conditional Skewness (NCS), Relative Frequency (RF) and the Garman-Klass (GK) on daily stock price data, thereby avoiding stationarity and distribution-related constraints. Our findings reveal significant differences in anomaly detection across these measures. While DUV and RF, which are based on second-moment calculations, capture variations in volatility, the GK approach (computed daily) and the NCS, which considers third-moment characteristics, provide complementary insight. To enhance robustness, we apply both Z-score normalization and Mahalanobis distance for joint anomaly detection. The Z-score method treats all risk measures equally and is suitable for normally distributed data but overlooks potential correlations. In contrast, Mahalanobis distance accounts for multivariate anomalies and interdependencies between risk measures, offering a more holistic approach. Our results indicate that Mahalanobis distance outperforms Z-Score normalization in detecting anomalies in five out of six insurance companies, except in the case of RAYSG. This study underscores the importance of alternative risk measures and multivariate anomaly detection techniques in financial fraud analysis, offering valuable insights for risk management and regulatory practices in emerging financial markets.

Exploitative Leadership and Subjective Career Success: A Serial Mediation Model

2025-05-19T09:50:14+00:00

TThis research was aimed to explore the relationship between exploitative leadership and subjective career success, and to examine the serial mediating roles of constructive resistance and networking in this relationship. Leveraging Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, the research examined followers’ coping strategies to safeguard resources in response to experiencing exploitative leadership. The study used the paper-and-pencil survey method to collect data from 305 employees in Pakistan’s service sector. Results of partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis indicated that exploitative leadership negatively affects subjective career success. Moreover, the results of mediation analysis employing the bootstrapping procedure confirmed the serial mediating roles of constructive resistance and networking. This study advances the leadership literature and career research by highlighting the roles of constructive resistance and networking as effective coping strategies to minimize the negative impact of exploitative leadership on subjective career success. These insights have implications for both practitioners and researchers. Organizations should promote ethical leadership, empower followers, and build resilience. Future research may examine contextual factors and multilevel leadership dynamics to deepen understanding of exploitative leadership across diverse settings.

The 1923 Egyptian Mahmal Incident: A Historical Analysis of Al-Qibla's Political Coverage

2025-04-23T07:04:11+00:00

As the official newspaper representing the Hijaz government, Al-Qibla documented the incident of the Egyptian Hajj Mahmal returning to Egypt without performing the Hajj rituals in 1341 AH / 1923 AD, through media coverage that discussed the details and circumstances of this incident. This study aims to analyse Al-Qibla's coverage of the incident. Using a descriptive methodology to interpret events within their historical and political contexts. Additionally, the study relies on the analysis of numerical data derived from historical records to provide a clearer understanding of the media and historical perspectives related to the incident. The study reveals that Al-Qibla's media coverage was not merely a documentation of the event but served as a political tool employed by the Hijaz government to strengthen its position regarding the return of the Mahmal and highlight its independent decision-making in managing Hajj affairs. This coverage occurred within the context of tense relations between the Hejaz and Egypt, as a result of British interventions that sought to strengthen their influence in the region by fueling disputes between Arab countries.

Influence of K-Pop Dramas on Pakistani Youth: A Case Study on Netflix’s Role in Cultural Transformation

2025-05-06T08:05:22+00:00

This study investigates the cultural influence of K-Pop and K-Dramas on Pakistani youth, emphasizing Netflix's role in shaping these preferences. Social Cognitive and Cultural imperialism theories applied in this study. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, the research utilizes focus group discussions to explore the perceptions of youth, parents, educators, and religious and cultural scholars. Four focus groups, each consisting of 6-8 participants, were conducted to examine shared experiences, cultural shifts, and differing perspectives. The findings highlight that while youth enthusiastically embrace Korean entertainment, citing its aesthetic appeal, storytelling, and emotional depth, concerns arise regarding cultural displacement, unrealistic beauty standards, and diminishing interest in local entertainment. Parents and educators emphasize the need for media literacy to foster critical engagement, ensuring that global media exposure does not erode Pakistani cultural values. The study underscores the necessity of a balanced media approach that encourages cultural exchange while preserving indigenous traditions. Given the qualitative nature of this research, future studies may benefit from a mixed-methods approach to quantify media influence further. Additionally, policymakers and content creators should develop compelling local content to sustain youth engagement with their cultural heritage while adapting to global media trends.

Vol. 19 No. 2 (2025): Summer

2025-07-01T05:52:46+00:00

FULL ISSUE: Vol. 19 No. 2 (2025): Summer