Papers by sheereen fauzel
Smart tourism, Feb 2, 2024
The tourism industry has been severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in Mauritius, where this... more The tourism industry has been severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in Mauritius, where this industry is the backbone of the economy. Just like tourism revenue, tourism returns are also expected to be affected. Hence, this paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on tourism returns in Mauritius by using a quantile regression model and daily data from 18 March to 30 June 2020. The results show that the COVID-19 variables used in the study impact negatively on tourism stock returns. For instance, it is observed that COVID-19 confirmed cases exert negative effects on tourism returns at higher quantiles. Similar results were obtained for COVID-19 recovered cases. Also, a positive link was found between the government response stringency index and tourism returns. However, stock volatility is observed to reduce the industry's return. This paper further provides useful insights for policymakers, investors, and managers in the tourism industry.
Africa Development, Aug 23, 2023
This article investigates learners' perception of their ability to adapt to online learning and t... more This article investigates learners' perception of their ability to adapt to online learning and the challenges they encountered as well as the opportunities they found in this new e-learning environment, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. A comprehensive survey was undertaken using an online questionnaire circulated among male and female students across various faculties at five universities and business schools in Mauritius. The results indicate that Covid-19 was a major disruption in higher education studies. Despite the online learning approach, students enrolled in STEM degrees were more impacted compared to those in non-STEM degrees. Around one-third of the students asserted that online learning was a major challenge, more so for those in the lowest-income group who lacked the necessary digital tools to adapt to this new learning environment. A non-conducive home environment further had a negative bearing on students' concentration and ability to cope with their studies. We noted that postgraduate students adapt to digital learning better compared to undergraduates. There is thus a need to rethink, revamp and redesign the education system to be prepared for future shocks and build resilience through the application of best practices in the digitalisation of the education system.
Međunarodna politika, Dec 31, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the Russia-Ukraine war, has had disastrous consequences for t... more The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the Russia-Ukraine war, has had disastrous consequences for the global economy. As a result of the crisis, the normal way of conducting business has changed drastically, and, with the ongoing Russian invasion in Ukraine, many governments and companies have taken immediate investment-related measures. Undoubtedly, the majority of Eastern European countries have been severely hit. It is therefore crucial to find out what impact these challenges have on foreign direct investment in these countries. To do so, the paper employs the panel data technique to estimate the impact of COVID-19 and the Ukrainian war on FDI in Eastern European economies from 1995 to 2022. The regression results show that both the pandemic and the war have discouraged foreign investment in the panel of countries considered in the sample. The results further indicate that per capita growth and trade openness are important determinants of FDI.
The moderating role of digitalisation in the tourism-growth nexus: evidence from small island economies
Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events
External debt and economic growth nexus in a small island developing state: An Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model investigation
The Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government, Nov 1, 2018
This study investigates the nature of the relationship between external debt and growth in Maurit... more This study investigates the nature of the relationship between external debt and growth in Mauritius and seeks to explore whether macroeconomic policies affect this nexus. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model bound testing approach is employed on the time series data for the period of 1980 to 2016. The findings showed a negative relationship between external debt and growth, confirming the presence of debt overhang. A crowding out effect was also found since debt servicing had a negative effect on growth. On the other hand, when an interactive term of debt and good policy is introduced, the negative effect of external debt on growth is lower, reducing the debt overhang problem and leading to a weak crowding out effect. However, the use of such economic policy has negative consequences on domestic investment and trade. Keyw ords: external debt, economic growth, macroeconomic policy, An Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model
Springer eBooks, 2021
The agricultural sector is of utmost importance for the expansion of African countries as it repr... more The agricultural sector is of utmost importance for the expansion of African countries as it represents the main pillar of their economies. The problem though is the changing climatic conditions which can negatively impact on agricultural output and as a result these countries will be affected on both economic and social grounds. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between climate change and agriculture for the case of 20 African countries from 1995 to 2017. The results show a negative and significant relationship between temperature and agricultural output for the selected African countries. Further analysis of the results shows that human capital development contributes positively to the growth of the agricultural sector, while trade openness is observed to prevent its expansion. Hence, there is a need for better land management, governance, and
DergiPark (Istanbul University), Apr 1, 2016
During the past decades, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) has been at the heart of the debat... more During the past decades, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) has been at the heart of the debate in the financial literature. Ultimately, the consequence of the efficiency of a market is that prices always fully reflect all available information. The objective of this study is to test whether the stock exchange of Mauritius (SEM) and development and enterprise market (DEM) are weak form efficient. The autocorrelation test, variance ratio test, run test and calendar effects testing, made under ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (GARCH)-M were used to examine weak-form EMH. Two indices namely the DEMEX and SEMDEX are tested by using both daily and monthly return data for the period from 1 st January 2007 to 31 st October 2012. Results obtained are mixed. For instance, from the autocorrelation test shows evidence to reject the null hypothesis of random walk for both daily and monthly returns. On the other hand, the run test indicates that the null hypothesis of random walk is rejected only for daily returns of SEMDEX and DEMEX while not rejected for the monthly series. The Lo and McKinley's variance ratio test fails to support weak-form-efficiency. Under both a daily perspective as well as on a monthly one, the returns of DEMEX has consistently proven to follow a random walk by using OLS and GARCH. While SEMDEX proved otherwise.
Economics and Business Letters, 2017
This paper examines the long run and short run impact of FDI (disaggregated into manufacturing an... more This paper examines the long run and short run impact of FDI (disaggregated into manufacturing and non- manufacturing sector), on CO2 emission in Mauritius. In this study the bounds testing approach to cointegration is used. For instance, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is used on time series data over the period 1980 to 2012. The main findings of this study show that foreign investment in the manufacturing sector is harmful for the environment whereas FDI in non-manufacturing sectors does not really affect the environment. Moreover, an increase in growth is as well seen to increase the level of CO2 emission. Energy use in the country also proved to result in an increase in CO2 emission. The findings further confirm the stability of the model for the small island economy of Mauritius.
FDI in tourism and economic growth in Mauritius. Evidence from a dynamic framework
Energy economics letters, 2019
Contribution/Originality: This study contributes to the existing literature of energy consumption... more Contribution/Originality: This study contributes to the existing literature of energy consumption-growth nexus for small island developing states. It uses new estimation methodology namely the Panel Autoregressive distributed lag model. The paper's primary contribution is finding that in both the long run and short run, there is a direct link between energy consumption and economic growth.
Trade and Inclusive Development in Mauritius:: Evidence from a Dynamic Framework
International Trade, Politics and Development
PurposeThe present study investigates the extent to which technological progress influences trade... more PurposeThe present study investigates the extent to which technological progress influences trade in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region over the period 1990–2017.Design/methodology/approachMethodologically, this study uses a rigorous dynamic analysis namely a dynamic vector error correction model (PVECM) to carry out the proposed investigation. Such a procedure ensures that the dynamic behaviour under consideration is properly captured, while simultaneously catering for causality issues.FindingsThe results show that technological progress has had a positive and significant effect on trade for the sample of countries in the COMESA region over the years of studies. Also, the long-run results show that local investment and economic growth have a positive impact on international trade. Furthermore, the short-run estimates allowed us to make further analysis of the results. For instance, it is observed that trade as well results in technological progress as...
Trade and Gas Emission in Mauritius: Impact on Socioeconomic Health and Environmental Degradation
Environmental Degradation: Challenges and Strategies for Mitigation
University of Malta. Islands and Small States Institute, Nov 1, 2021
The paper investigates the climate change, governance and development nexus for 19 small island d... more The paper investigates the climate change, governance and development nexus for 19 small island developing states (SIDS) from 1995 to 2018. The study uses the Vector Error Correction Model and the results point out that climate change and environmental degradation deter economic growth. Governance has a positive and significant impact on economic growth across the selected SIDS. The findings also confirm a bi-directional causal link between economic growth and governance, and that increasing growth contributes to higher levels of pollution. Finally, governance has no statistically significant effect on environmental degradation. This is attributed to weak governance arrangements in small (and mainly island) states, which fail to have well defined goals and strategies in the climate change sector. There is thus a need to administer policies, programmes, legal instruments, reforms and institutional interventions in a holistic and coordinated manner among and within various institutions across SIDS to build a proper governance structure to curb the impacts of climate change.
Tourism FDI and Sustainable Development in Mauritius. A Dynamic Investigation
Tourism and Foreign Direct Investment, 2022
Social media and tourism development in Africa: an empirical investigation
Handbook on Tourism and Social Media, 2022
During the past decades, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) has been at the heart of the debat... more During the past decades, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) has been at the heart of the debate in the financial literature. Ultimately, the consequence of the efficiency of a market is that prices always fully reflect all available information. The objective of this study is to test whether the stock exchange of Mauritius (SEM) and development and enterprise market (DEM) are weak form efficient. The autocorrelation test, variance ratio test, run test and calendar effects testing, made under ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (GARCH)-M were used to examine weak-form EMH. Two indices namely the DEMEX and SEMDEX are tested by using both daily and monthly return data for the period from 1 st January 2007 to 31 st October 2012. Results obtained are mixed. For instance, from the autocorrelation test shows evidence to reject the null hypothesis of random walk for both daily and monthly returns. On the other hand, the run t...
COVID-19 and Mauritius’ tourism industry: an island perspective
Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 2022
The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has brought a halt to the tourism industry. Mauritius, which is... more The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has brought a halt to the tourism industry. Mauritius, which is a dependent tourism economy, has been highly impacted. International travel restrictions have had significant effects on segments as diverse as air transport, cruises, accommodation houses, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and other small and medium enterprises. The objective of the paper is to assess the impact of COVID-19 on firms' performance, employment levels and recovery plans established by firms and the authorities. Using a sample of 100 small-and medium-sized firms in tourism across various regions of Mauritius, the study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on firm's performance in terms of revenue, investments and employment levels. The effects of recovery measures, assistance schemes provided by the Government and adjustments undertaken by enterprises to boost their activities are probed into. Our results reveal an important negative effect of the pandemic on tourism demands and cash flows. The impact on employment though negative seems to have been cushioned partially by Government schemes.
International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 2016
During the past decades, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) has been at the heart of the debat... more During the past decades, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) has been at the heart of the debate in the financial literature. Ultimately, the consequence of the efficiency of a market is that prices always fully reflect all available information. The objective of this study is to test whether the stock exchange of Mauritius (SEM) and development and enterprise market (DEM) are weak form efficient. The autocorrelation test, variance ratio test, run test and calendar effects testing, made under ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (GARCH)-M were used to examine weak-form EMH. Two indices namely the DEMEX and SEMDEX are tested by using both daily and monthly return data for the period from 1st January 2007 to 31st October 2012. Results obtained are mixed. For instance, from the autocorrelation test shows evidence to reject the null hypothesis of random walk for both daily and monthly returns. On the other hand, the run tes...
FDI and Spillovers Efficiency
Policy makers in developing and transition economies place attracting FDI high on their agenda, e... more Policy makers in developing and transition economies place attracting FDI high on their agenda, expecting FDI inflows to bring needed capital, new technologies, marketing techniques and management skills. All of these potential benefits of FDI are viewed as important; however particular emphasis is placed on the contribution of FDI to increasing productivity and competitiveness of the domestic industry as an external effect of the latter in the host country. It has been noted in the literature that different types of spillovers may provide important benefits for the countries which host them. To examine the effect of FDI, an industry level panel data covering selected manufacturing firms in Latin America and Asia is being used. The empirical results show that the presence of FDI does benefit local firms but the effect differs between groups of industries. A positive and more statistically significant spillover in industries with low technology gap is analyzed as compared to that of ...
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Papers by sheereen fauzel