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This paper investigates the effect of household size, and in particular of the number of children of different age groups, on poverty, defined as being in a situation of low income. We apply various static and dynamic probit models to control for the endogeneity of the variables of interest and to account for unobserved heterogeneity, state dependence, and serially correlated error components. Using Luxembourg longitudinal data, we show that the number of children of different age groups significantly affects the probability of being poor. However, the magnitude of the effect varies across different specifications. In addition, we find strong evidence of true poverty persistency due to past experience, spurious poverty persistency due to individual heterogeneity, and transitory random shocks.

We analyse the determinants of poverty transitions, defined as movements across a low-income threshold, in Luxembourg. Data used are those from the Luxembourg socio-economic panel ‘Liewen zu Lëtzebuerg’ (PSELL3) running from 2003 to 2009. Using an endogenous switching first-order Markov model, we control for potential endogeneity to low-income transitions due to both initial conditions and non-random attrition. We find that employment protects from both remaining poor and entering poverty while several characteristics of the head of the household, such as low education or citizenship, and also household composition and housing tenure status are correlated to poverty entry but not to poverty persistence. In addition, attrition and initial low income are found to be endogenous processes with respect to low-income transitions. Finally, genuine state dependence accounts for a substantial level of aggregate state dependence.

It is our pleasure as editors to dedicate Research on Economic Inequality, Volume 20 to Professor Jacques Silber. Jacques is a long-time friend of the series and has kindly functioned as a mentor and advisor to us.

In an era where religion predominantly presents an integral influence on the way most people live and work, an Islamic approach in managing human resources in Malaysia is apt. This is due to the fact that Muslim employees represent the largest percentage of the workforce in Malaysia and the Malaysian government is implementing an Islamization process in the country. The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which Muslim employees are aware of Islamic human resource management (HRM) practices and the extent to which Islamic organisations in Malaysia practice HRM based upon the Islamic approaches as outlined by the sacred Islamic texts.

This is a survey‐based research. It uses a self‐developed questionnaire for data collection. A total of 121 Muslim employees who work in Islamic organisations participate as respondents in this paper. Factor analysis is used for data analysis.

The results show that the selected Muslim employees in Islamic organisations in Malaysia are aware of the Islamic HRM practices which they practice frequently.

Religious foundations of HRM strategies are important but are rarely highlighted in the literature. This paper would become an important reference for future studies pertaining to HRM practices in the Islamic context. An introduction to Islamic human resource practices is an initial attempt to provide managers with an additional way of managing people. For Muslim human resource managers who work in Islamic organisations, i.e. those Muslim‐owned or dealing with Islamic teachings, it is an obligation for them to not only know but also to apply the Islamic approach in managing employees. Non‐Muslim managers would have a better understanding of the expected and acceptable behaviours of their Muslim employees at the workplace. Among the behaviours expected of true Muslim employees; regardless of whom they work for, are honesty, trustworthiness, and continuous determination to work for the best.

This paper is unique from other previous studies for instead of discussing Islamic management in general, this paper explores in depth every function of HRM based on authentic Islamic sources, as well as providing empirical evidence.

Hisbah is one of the distinguished institutions that had emerged since the early days of the Islamic empire. Based on its cardinal duty to enjoin good and prohibit evil, over time, its functions gradually expanded, and its responsibilities increasingly grew. In light of the contemporary trend in establishing institutional framework for consumer protection, entrusting an agency with multifarious tasks may not be the best and effective way in handling consumer protection issues. Thus, this chapter attempts to explore the new paradigm of hisbah as a consumer protection institution in Malaysia with a special reference to the Islamic consumer credit industry. While utilising the doctrinal legal research methodology, relevant sources of law have been examined and analysed. This research finds that the classical hisbah institution provides a good reference point in establishing regulatory agency and dispute management body. Nevertheless, some modifications are required to remain relevant especially in terms of specialisation of role and function. Likewise, it is viewed that adjustment of the hisbah institution is also necessary regarding the characteristic of the muhtasib (ombudsman).

Studies Ghazzali’s and Kant’s metaphysical epistemologies in comparative perspectives to bring out their consequences on the central issue of unification of knowledge. Addresses the problem posed by either of these epistemologies towards unifying knowledge. Shows the central issue of reality as a universal is to be premissed in unification, which is in turn explained to be the direct function of interaction and creative evolution from lower to higher levels of certainty. Shows the unification epistemology to be uniquely premissed in the Qur’anic roots of Oneness of God. Explains this concept substantively in analytical terms. Thus the concept of unification of knowledge means the circular continuity by evolution of the interactions and integration that occur by linkages between the purely a priori and the purely a posteriori domains. This is also meant to convey the phenomenon of epistemic‐ontic continuity of the process towards comprehension and the resulting materiality of forms that subsequently reinforce newer levels of comprehensions. Unification takes place in the plane of such interlinkages, complementarity and convergence or integration. Invokes the problem of unification of knowledge in the contrasting modes of all the three cases, namely Ghazzali, Kant and the unification epistemology, to address the issues of moral market transformation taken up in the midst of human sustainability. Discusses some contemporary issues relating to globalization, economic interlinkages and evolution for world development, in light of the topic of moral market transformation and sustainability. Studies both of these analytically in the unification epistemology paradigm in contrast to the consequences implicative of Ghazzali’s and Kant’s epistemologies.

The coastal zone of Bangladesh that is in the front line of the battle against climate change faced over 200 natural disasters in the past 40 years, and most of the disasters were cyclones. The inevitable cyclone shelter (CS), the backbone of disaster management (DM), provides short-term safety for the disaster victims in Bangladesh. This study aims to explore the community-based limitations and sustainable development features of CSs including the gender issues.

A questionnaire survey was carried out among 230 community people to identify the requirements and sustainable development features of CSs. A field visit was carried out in 23 CSs to capture its existing facilities. Key informant interviews were conducted in the office of Upazila Engineers to strengthen survey data.

This research found that the plan of CSs, quality of construction, capacity, facilities, entrance and exit, space allocation, management and policy were not capable enough to fulfill the needs and requirements of the community people. Due to lack of separate facilities, women and girls avoided shelters for fear of sexual and mental harassment in CSs, as they had experiences in the earlier events of cyclones. Insufficient facilities discourage community from using the shelters.

Women and girls were shy to share their experience in CSs. The historical data were limited in the study area. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research presents the actual community-based outcome. During CCRIP training program, the authors met 3,625 community people, and participatory discussions were made to explore the participants’ experiences and perceptions about the sustainable development of CSs.

South-Asian coastal zones are prone to natural, quasi-natural hazard and disasters, where shelters are required for protecting lives of community people during such disasters such as cyclones, storm surges, and floods. Therefore, this study can help in making sustainable development decisions in terms of constructing shelters in disaster-prone countries like Bangladesh.

The outcomes of this investigation are useful for uplifting psychosocial status to protect lives during disasters such as cyclones, storm surges and floods and increase accessibility to shelters, and users will consider CSs as a social asset. In turn, the acceptability of CSs into community level are expected to be increased for combating against cyclones, storm surges, and floods.

This study introduces the bottom-up approach that refers to the community-based decision-making to identify the limitations and sustainable improvement of CSs. This research contributes to bridging the gaps between decision-makers and users of CSs. From the authors’ field experience, it can be said that this is the first fieldwork regarding the objectives.