How do refugees economically cope in host countries where they have no legal right to work? Most Southeast Asian countries have not ratified the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention. This implies that many refugees in this region do not enjoy any protection from the law, do not possess the legal right to work, and often resort to participation in dirty, dangerous, and demeaning jobs in order to make ends meet. In this paper, we study Rohingya refugees working as construction workers in the informal economy in Peninsular Malaysia by employing a mixed methods methodology. Specifically, we utilize micro-level survey data collected from a representative population of 314 Rohingya refugee workers in the construction industry, as well as in-depth interviews conducted with a subset of 77 of the survey respondents. Using the survey data, we first provide an overview of the social and economic lives of our respondents by summarizing key variables such as demographics, integration measures, and healthcare access. We then utilize regression analysis to understand the relationships between these variables. The key quantitative finding is that Rohingya refugees in the construction industry earn significantly above minimum wage in Malaysia (albeit less than their legal counterparts), and significantly more than their earnings prior to arriving in Malaysia. This is true even after adjusting for purchasing power. We then conduct a thematic analysis on the qualitative data obtained through the interviews to understand the dimensions of employment for the respondents. We find that although the construction industry in Peninsular Malaysia has provided Rohingya refugees with the means to escape poverty, they still face a tremendous amount of precarity and uncertainty in their lives.

Purpose This paper aims to provide an in-depth conceptualization of service exclusion by drawing on our exploratory research as well as thick and rich insights from the authors’ qualitative data. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research was used to explore service exclusion practices against customers experiencing vulnerabilities. A total of 28 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with refugees residing within Malaysia. The Gioia methodology was used for the authors’ data analysis and the findings were validated by an independent moderator. Findings The authors’ empirical findings challenge how service exclusion is currently understood, by adding substantial depth and complexity beyond simply describing “the lack of access to services”. The authors also offer rich empirical findings describing 29 forms of exclusion, which were further reduced to seven types of service exclusion practices: discrimination, restriction, cost barriers, language and technology barriers, poor servicing, non-accountability and non-inclusivity. Originality/value This study conceptualizes service exclusion from a process perspective, that is, “how” customers experiencing vulnerabilities are being excluded, rather than “what” is excluded.

In developing countries with limited resources available for aid distribution, community-based organizations have been pivotal in providing emergency relief to marginalized groups during the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdown(s). Using the theory of power–dependence relations and resource dependency theory, this paper explores the realities of refugee-led community-based organizations (RLOs) in Malaysia and their relationships with internal and external agents. Utilizing qualitative data from 38 leaders and followers, we conducted a thematic analysis to understand the experiences of RLOs since March 2020, finding that during the pandemic: (1) a significant burden fell on a few leaders to distribute aid from external parties; (2) leaders and followers experienced the pandemic very differently; and (3) leaders became disseminators of public health information. Given the power structures, dependencies and findings identified in this paper, we propose a more cohesive aid distribution strategy for different actors to engage with RLOs, allowing them to maximize the reach of disbursed funds.

Purpose Youth entrepreneurship has been identified as a key driver in overcoming the economic crisis spurred by youth unemployment. However, the understanding of youth entrepreneurship is largely based on research in high-income countries. Furthermore, entrepreneurship studies to date are largely limited to the independent effects of individual traits on entrepreneurial intention (EI). Hence, this study aims to model the cognitive and social conditions, mediating processes and interactions to understand how youth EI can be formed and strengthened in an emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional sample of 295 Malaysian youths participating in an online entrepreneurship program were included to assess their family socioeconomic background, individual personality traits and EI using regression, mediation and moderation models. Within the sample, 29 youths who completed the program were examined for pre- and post-training intervention differences to identify whether entrepreneurial traits can be developed. Findings Results showed that a proactive personality or proactiveness was a key mediator in how an internal locus of control (ILOC) and self-esteem influence EI. Furthermore, ILOC and proactiveness were found to compensate for the lack of parental financial support in the formation of EI among low-income youth. Finally, there was a significant increase in proactive personality scores post-intervention, indicating that this trait can be strengthened through entrepreneurship programs. Research limitations/implications This study focused on parental income as an indicator of family socioeconomic background, which may not accurately represent the diversity of the socio-ecological environment of an individual. Therefore, future research should assess the multi-dimensional indicators of socioeconomic status and their relations with psychological attributes in shaping EI. Furthermore, this study observed a small sample size for the pre- and post-intervention analysis. Hence, more studies with large sample sizes are needed to examine the impact of entrepreneurship education. Practical implications Considering that entrepreneurship is envisioned as an instrument to lift youths out of poverty, this study has important implications for entrepreneurship programs that target low-income youths. The findings suggest that such programs need to first emphasize developing ILOC and proactiveness among these youths, thus enabling them to overcome various structural barriers toward entrepreneurship, as opposed to a purely knowledge-based learning approach. Social implications To effectively lift youths out of poverty through entrepreneurship, policymakers and educational institutions need to first recognize that the EI of youth from varying socioeconomic backgrounds are formed differently. Hence, the approach of entrepreneurship programs catered toward youth from lower socioeconomic backgrounds will differ from programs catered to youths who are financially secure. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, entrepreneurship programs targeted at low-income youths must first emphasize building their mindsets of ILOC and proactivity to overcome financial challenges as opposed to focusing solely on building entrepreneurial skills and knowledge. Originality/value The findings offer a more holistic and nuanced view of the contingencies where the efforts of policymakers, educational institutions and practitioners are more likely to succeed in stimulating EI among youths in emerging economies. In addition, the study also bridges the gap between the theoretical understanding of EI and the practical implications of developing effective entrepreneurship programs by combining the cross-sectional analysis and pre- and post-intervention test in the same study. Importantly, the study highlighted the importance of considering youth’s socioeconomic background in the design and implementation of entrepreneurship programs.

Youth’s aspirations are a key influence on their decision-making process but may perpetuate poverty traps among marginalised and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. We aim to examine the complex formation of female youth aspirations and geographical demographic differences. We recruited 56 16-year-old Malaysian female students from one urban ( n = 24) and two rural schools in Malaysia ( n = 32). A mixed-design approach was utilised by (1) quantitatively assessing their aspirations from drawings of future selves and (2) qualitatively complementing the drawings with semi-structured interviews ( n = 28, 14/14). Results showed that youth aspirations are socially produced, primarily by family members but also by internal factors (e.g., domain passion and self-efficacy). While there were similar rural-urban aspiration levels, rural youth demonstrated more self-blaming tendencies (resulting in them choosing careers of lower occupational prestige) and frequently mentioned resorting to part-time entrepreneurship to supplement employment their income. Our study has implications for interventions targeted at driving social mobility for rural and/or low-income young women and emphasises the importance of a multifaceted capacity-building approach while also addressing structural constraints.