Open Access Short communication

Sustainable Tourism Economic Development - Experience in the World and Practice in Vietnam

Ngo Phi Ha

South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics, Volume 17, Issue 4, Page 27-35
DOI: 10.9734/sajsse/2023/v17i4643

Tourism, a fast growing industry, has become one of the key economic sectors in many parts of the world. For our country, the Party and the State have affirmed the extreme importance of the tourism sector in the national economy, defined the objectives of developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector of the country and issued a large number of consistent guidelines and policies throughout the years. However, in order to achieve the sustainability in tourism economic development, many issues need to be resolved, namely policy making, legal improvement, infrastructure investment, human resources training and so on. In the current context of international economic integration, more and more extensive opportunities are open for Vietnam’s tourism sector to learn and share experience in the sustainable tourism economic development.

Open Access Original Research Article

Research on Integral Traffic-sharing Platforms Based on Block Chain

Zhang Zechun , Zheng Xuwei , Yang Xuyun , Li Jingyi , Yang Jinkai , Gu Shengyu , Wang Fengnian , Li Zhijian

South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics, Volume 17, Issue 4, Page 1-12
DOI: 10.9734/sajsse/2023/v17i4641

Starting from the catering industry, using the decentralized characteristics of block chain technology, to research the integrated traffic sharing platform, to provide a guarantee for the actions of improving customer loyalty, preserving and obtaining customer traffic. Build a self-driving shared traffic distribution system with the help of block chain technology, reduce the risk of credit over-issuance, and establish an efficient and safe benefit protection mechanism through smart contracts. Research results: The application of block chain technology to the catering industry can promote decentralization, build a trust mechanism, realize the value of data, and strengthen property rights protection, but it is difficult to implement the project, requiring a large amount of financial and technical support. The introduction of block chain technology into the construction of the integrated traffic-sharing platform can provide merchants with traffic opportunities and satisfy consumers' personalized consumption motivation. The complete system, science and technology integrated travel chain has become a brand barrier and has been the escort for the catering consumption industry.

Open Access Original Research Article

Impact of COVID-19 on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh: An Owner-centric Study

Md. Tanjil Hossain , Md. Habibur Rahman , Ankon Chandra Dey , Md. Lizon Mia

South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics, Volume 17, Issue 4, Page 13-26
DOI: 10.9734/sajsse/2023/v17i4642

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an essential part of Bangladesh's economy, contributing significantly to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The study aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the owners of SMEs in Bangladesh. To serve this purpose, cross-sectional data were collected from 103 participants using a purposive sampling technique. We generated different frequency distribution tables based on our inputted data, and then the results of the study were presented using descriptive statistics. The results of the study showed that 58.3% of the SMEs were completely shut down due to COVID-19 pandemic. We also observed that the demand for goods reduced by 83.5%, while production costs increased by 21.4%. Thus, the overall production of goods in SMEs decreased by 48.5%. Most of the owners (90.3%) stated that their profit was dropped by 50% to 100% during corona pandemic, and 68.9% of owners had to retrench workers from their organizations to reduce costs. Approximately, 78.3% of respondents stated that their products remained unsold from 10% to 70% during the pandemic. The findings suggest that policymakers should advance the SME sector by incorporating e-commerce, more favorable government policies, facilitating bank loans, and establishing new training institutions to solve the existing drawbacks of this sector.   

Open Access Review Article

In the 21st Century social accountability has become one of the preconditions to create a more transparent and representative government and aid public institutions in meeting the expectations of the population through empowering citizens which is necessary for effective and sustainable development. Social accountability of the elected representatives at the rural level may help the government increase service quality, empower rural citizens, and promote good governance. At present Bangladesh, mostly known as the “Development Surprise”, has leaped towards lower middle-income country status from a poor developing one within four decades of its decisive victory. In this stage of growth and development, the persistence of social accountability at the rural local government would ensure the attainment of sustainable development through ensuring demand-based service delivery. Against this backdrop, this paper intends to explore the present status of social accountability mechanisms at the Union Parishad which is the lowest tier of rural local governance in Bangladesh. Based on the analysis, several recommendations for the way forward have been summarized. Secondary data analysis and empirical knowledge have been exerted which would refer to a clear view of the current status of social accountability at the grass root level. The first section mentions the importance of social accountability at the union level based on theoretical analysis. Existing mechanisms to ensure social accountability at Union Parishad have been delineated in the second section. The third section develops a compact understanding of the current status of social accountability at the Union Parishad level. The fourth section will share a discussion of the findings, recommendations, and conclusion. This study finds that the lack of interest among Union Parishad Functionaries, avoidance by citizens, irregularities in committee formation, irregular meetings, lack of resources, clientelism and Govt. supervision, etc. have made the social accountability mechanisms at the rural local government ineffective and fruitless. The political willingness of the Government, GO-NGO collaboration, allocation of resources to rural local government, awareness raising among citizens, educating citizens politically, and ensuring proper training for the officials in the Union Parishad can play an important role to revive social accountability through deliberative forums and committees in the rural local government.

Open Access Review Article

"Change" and "Constant" in International Relations: A Case Study Based on the China-Bangladesh Perspective

Muhammad Al Amin , Saydur Rahman Nion

South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics, Volume 17, Issue 4, Page 46-54
DOI: 10.9734/sajsse/2023/v17i4645

This paper has been prepared based on secondary data. The China and Bangladesh diplomatic relations were established in 1975. Since then, the relationship between China and Bangladesh has been going high. The China-Bangladesh relationship reached a new level with China's President Xi Jinping's two-day historic visit to Bangladesh in October 2016. Which was widely dubbed a "historic state visit," the start of a "new horizon," or "a new historical starting point" of China and Bangladesh relations. There is a lot of history in the thousand-year-old friendship between China and Bangladesh. The relationship between Sino and Bangladesh is changing very fast after the twenty-first century. But also, there has a constant relation between China and Bangladesh. In this paper, we tried to explain the thousand-year-old friendship between the two countries and explore the "Change" and the "Constant" in international relations based on the China and Bangladesh perspective.