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This paper reviews the recent economic situation in Malaysia and examines the prospects for future economic growth. The Malaysian economy continues to perform well, although there are risks and uncertainties. There is evidence that economic growth has started to slow recently in response to the falling oil price and low investor confidence. The Ringgit appreciated against the U.S. dollar through to mid-2014, but has subsequently depreciated. The budget deficit has declined in recent years, reflecting fiscal reform and the introduction of the Good and Service Tax (GST). While we express concern about the risks associated with declining commodity prices and uncertainties over capital flows, we conclude that the prospects for continued economic growth in Malaysia are relatively good. In the short-term cheaper crude oil price imports and major public infrastructure investment projects will spur growth. In the longer-term, we emphasize the role of investment in education in moving up the value-added chain into higher value added manufacturing. We also stress that the government must play a key role in restoring investor confidence and reducing ethnic and religion tension, if Malaysia is continue to exhibit strong growth in the longer term.

The recent vote by Britain to quit European Union (EU) and the political pressures in some member countries to exit EU necessitates a critical evaluation of the long-run economic benefits of economic integration or union to member countries. Consequently, this paper examines recent empirical studies on the nexus between economic integration and economic growth in developed and developing countries. It also investigates the literature on the impact of financial integration on economic growth. Evidence from the study shows that though other views exist, but there are overwhelming supports for growth-enhancing effects of economic integration, albeit common currency adoption has insignificant effect on growth. The channels through which economic integration exerts its influence on growth include, capital accumulation, productivity growth, trade and financial integration. However, the study shows that the impact of financial integration on economic growth is inconclusive. Based on the findings, the study draws some implications and policy options.

Fuel subsidies are widespread and debated extensively. The issues with these subsidies are fully acknowledged by many energy economists; however, the total subsidy level remains high. This is because energy subsidies are often closely related to the political economy viewpoint. Moreover, the rationale underlying fossil fuel subsidies, particularly concerning political, economic, and social contexts, is to reduce energy poverty, ensure access to energy, and redistribute the wealth that stems from the exploitation of national resources. Although there is considerable controversy surrounding the efficiency of these policies, energy subsidies confer private benefits on particular interest groups and, once implemented, tend to persist. This paper discusses and models various aspects of the political economy of fuel subsidy reform in selected Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. Applying a panel data set from the period 1991-2018, the paper provides an empirical analysis of the economic and political perspectives of fuel prices in APEC countries resulting from the elimination of fossil fuel subsidization policies. Our findings robustly support the current economic trend of those governments that have decided to phase out fossil fuel energy policies. Based on these findings, we conclude that a range of economic, political, and social parameters systematically influence fuel prices.

"Contains both theoretical and practical applications that will be useful to academics, researchers, students, stakeholders, professionals, and policymakers in ASEAN. Serves as a reference resource and supplementary companion to other economies that might face similar situations either now or in the future"--

This paper applies univariate and panel Lagrange multiplier (LM) unit root tests with one and two structural breaks to the ratio of the regional to national house price to examine the ripple effect for five different housing price indices (aggregate housing, detached housing, semi-detached housing, terrace housing and high-rise housing) across 14 regional locations in Malaysia. Segmentation is restricted to a small group of states across most housing types for which there is no long-run relationship with the Malaysian average. When all housing types are taken together, evidence of a ripple effect is generally found from the most developed states to the less developed states of Malaysia. While overall rates of conversion to the long-run equilibrium are consistent with a low level of persistence, there is some evidence of regional clusters based on similar speeds of adjustment in different parts of the country.

This paper applies univariate and panel Lagrange Multiplier (LM) unit root tests with one and two structural breaks to examine the random walk hypothesis for stock prices in eight Asian countries. The results from the univariate LM unit root tests and panel LM unit root test with one structural break suggest that stock prices in each country is characterized by a random walk, but the findings from the panel LM unit root test with two structural breaks suggest that stock prices in the eight countries are mean reverting.

Abstract
Background
Environmental concerns are growing globally. The world has suffered severe environmental deterioration over the years. Undeniably, the impact of environmental degradation on the earth's geographical space is alarming, making environmental stakeholders to be worried. Existing literature has examined several factors affecting the environment, but the focus has now shifted to education and the need to maximize its potentials. Although studies have examined the direct impacts of education on the environment, those investigating its moderating role are relatively new and scarce, particularly across income groups. Understanding the channel through which education might affect the environment requires the knowledge of its moderating role. Therefore, this study employs FMOLS, DOLS, ARDL-PMG, CCEMG and heterogeneous panel causality test methodologies to investigate the direct and moderating effects of education in the growth-energy-environment linkages in heterogeneous income groups of 92 countries from 1985 to 2018.

Results
The findings of this study indicate that economic growth is a long-term solution to environmental deterioration in high and upper-middle-income countries, while the opposite holds for lower-middle-income and low-income countries. In addition, energy consumption is linked with environmental degradation across all income groups. Also, the study finds that education's direct effects aggravate environmental degradation across all income groups. Moreover, its moderating role ameliorates the adverse effects of energy consumption on environmental degradation in high and upper-middle-income groups but worsens it in the lower-middle-income and low-income groups.

Conclusion
This study examines the role of education in economic growth, energy consumption and environmental degradation nexus. The study concludes that education is important for environmental sustainability as it encourages pro-environmental behaviors and attitudes and supports energy-efficient products and investments in green technologies. However, education may also aid energy-intensive activities and dirty technology by supporting lifestyles that are not eco-friendly. It is important, therefore, to provide education that promotes better environmental quality.

The recent vote by Britain to quit European Union (EU) and the political pressures in some member countries to exit EU necessitates a critical evaluation of the long-run economic benefits of economic integration or union to member countries. Consequently, this paper examines recent empirical studies on the nexus between economic integration and economic growth in developed and developing countries. It also investigates the literature on the impact of financial integration on economic growth. Evidence from the study shows that though other views exist, but there are overwhelming supports for growth-enhancing effects of economic integration, albeit common currency adoption has insignificant effect on growth. The channels through which economic integration exerts its influence on growth include, capital accumulation, productivity growth, trade and financial integration. However, the study shows that the impact of financial integration on economic growth is inconclusive. Based on the findings, the study draws some implications and policy options.