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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Erdogdu, Erkan |
| Abstract: | The world’s most expensive motor fuel (gasoline, diesel and LPG) is sold most likely in the Republic of Turkey. This paper investigates the key issues related to the motor fuel prices in Turkey. First of all, the paper analyses the main reason behind high prices, namely motor fuel taxes in Turkey. Then, it estimates the elasticity of motor fuel demand in Turkey using an econometric analysis. The findings indicate that motor fuel demand in Turkey is quite inelastic and, therefore, not responsive to price increases caused by an increase in either pre-tax prices or taxes. Therefore, fuel market in Turkey is open to opportunistic behaviour by firms (through excessive profits) and the government (through excessive taxes). Besides, the paper focuses on the impact of high motor fuel prices on road transport associated activities, including the pattern of passenger transportation, motorization rate, fuel use, total kilometers travelled and CO2 emissions from road transportation. The impact of motor fuel prices on income distribution in Turkey and Turkish public opinion about high motor fuel prices are also among the subjects investigated in the course of the study. |
| Keywords: | Model construction and estimation; fiscal policy; motor fuel prices |
| JEL: | C51 D72 E62 H23 Q43 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55521&r=cwa |
| By: | Guner, Duygu (K.U.Leuven); Uysal, Gökce (Bahcesehir University) |
| Abstract: | Does culture affect female labor supply? In this paper, we address this question using a recent approach to measuring the effects of culture on economic outcomes, i.e. the epidemiological approach. We focus on migrants, who come from different cultures, but who share a common economic and institutional set-up today. Controlling for various individual characteristics including parental human capital as well as for current economic and institutional setup, we find that female employment rates in 1970 in a female migrant's province of origin affects her labor supply behavior in 2008. We also show that it is the female employment rates and not male in the province of origin in 1970 that affects the current labor supply behavior. We also extend the epidemiological approach to analyze the effects of religion on female labor supply. More specifically, we use a proxy of parental religiosity, i.e. share of party votes in 1973 elections in Turkey to study female labor supply in 2008. Our findings indicate that female migrants from provinces that had larger (smaller) shares of the religious party votes in 1973 are less (more) likely to participate in the labor market in 2008. An extended model where both cultural and religiosity proxies are included shows that culture and religiosity have separately significant effects on female labor supply behavior. |
| Keywords: | culture, female labor force participation, gender |
| JEL: | J16 J21 Z10 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8132&r=cwa |
| By: | Elena Shubina (Department of Geography, University of NamurAuthor-Name: Gani Aldashev; Department of Economics and CRED, University of Namur); Sabine Henry (Department of Geography, University of Namur) |
| Abstract: | Technology adoption in agriculture is one of the key factors of change in rural areas of developing countries. Large-scale in-migration by groups using a more advanced production technology often triggers such change in autochthone populations. We analyse the determinants of adoption of new agricultural technology by nomadic pastoralists using unique micro-level data from a historical episode of massive Russian peasant in-migration into Kazakhstan at the turn of the 20th century. We find that distance to Russian settlers is a key determinant of technology adoption, even after controlling for socio-economic and environmental characteristics. This effect is stronger for wealthier and less mobile Kazakh families with pasture land more suitable for agriculture. The adoption of new technology follows a heterogeneous pattern within the autochthone population, with important implications for the evolution of inequality. |
| Keywords: | technology adoption, nomadic pastoralism, migration, Kazakhstan |
| JEL: | N5 O33 O13 Q15 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nam:wpaper:1407&r=cwa |
| By: | Billon, Steve; Gillanders, Robert |
| Abstract: | Using data from the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys, we test two interesting results that emerge from the theoretical model presented in Shleifer and Vishny (1994) that studies bargaining between politicians and managers of state-owned firms. Shleifer and Vishny's model suggests that firms with more state ownership should tend to pay less in bribes but not have a different experience of costly obstacles imposed on them by politicians. In our full sample, the results suggest that a one percent increase in state ownership is associated with a $125 reduction in the total annual informal payment of the firm and with a 0.5% decrease in the probability that a firm will consider corruption to be an obstacle to their current operations. We refine these average relationships somewhat by splitting the sample by global region. Only in our Europe and Central Asia sample do we find strong evidence in support of the first result and in this sample we find a signifcant effect of state ownership on obstacles. In our Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and Caribbean samples we do not find a significant effect on either corruption outcome. |
| Keywords: | state ownership, corruption, privatisation, bribery |
| JEL: | D73 G32 L32 L33 P31 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55600&r=cwa |
| By: | Tausch, Arno (University of Innsbruck); Heshmati, Almas (Jönköping University, Sogang University) |
| Abstract: | Following the attempt by Alesina and Guiliano (2013) to measure global culture and to project these measurements onto real choropleth geographical world maps, we utilize the data from the World Values Survey (WVS) to arrive at robust measurement scales of global economic, political and social values and to assess Turkey's place on them. Our study, which is based on 92,289 representative individuals with complete data in 68 countries, representing 56.89% of the global population, looks at hard-core economic values in the countries. From our new nine dimensions for the determination of the geography of human values, based on a promax factor analysis of the available data, we use six factor analytical scores to calculate a new Global Value Development Index, which combines: avoiding economic permissiveness; avoiding racism; avoiding distrust of the army and the press; avoiding the authoritarian character; tolerance and respect; and avoiding the rejection of the market economy and democracy. Our results show that the five best ranked countries are all western democracies. Our global value development index ranks Morocco twelfth – just behind the USA. Turkey is ranked 25, ahead of several EU member countries. But there are still considerable deficits concerning the liberal values components, which are very important for effective democracy, and there are very large regional differences, confirming the dictum by Huntington (1996) about Turkey as a torn country. The deficits suggest that the Turkish state, Turkish civil society and European decision makers would be well advised to continue to support civil society and secular democracy in Turkey. |
| Keywords: | index numbers and aggregation, international relations, international political economy, religion, bureaucracy, administrative processes, corruption |
| JEL: | C43 F50 Z12 D73 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8163&r=cwa |
| By: | Johnson, Hillary; El Mekkaoui de Freitas, Najat |
| Abstract: | We study formal and informal insurance in Iraq using empirical data from a household survey. We study access to social security, health insurance, and retirement. Then, we examine the types of risks that Iraqi households face, and the informal coping mechanisms they use to deal with them. After studying formal and informal social protection separately, we study the relationship between the two and test the hypothesis of crowding out. We find that socio-demographic characteristics affect formal insurance detention, the probability of a risk occurring, and the type of risk coping mechanism that a household uses. The most important determinant of receiving formal benefits is the sector of employment: public sector workers are between 83% and 84% more likely than private sector workers to have formal benefits. Poverty, the type of employment, the place of residence, the size of the household, the gender of the household head, and the education of the household impact the probability with which a household is affected by different types of risks. These socio -‐ demographic characteristics along with the type of risk that the household faced influence the household’s choice of risk coping mechanism. We find evidence of crowding out; however, we conclude that this should not translate to a reduction in formal safety nets. Our results have many policy implications to improve access to formal insurance, reduce risks, and mitigate the negative aspects of certain informal coping mechanisms in Iraq . |
| Keywords: | Iraq; Social protection; formal and informal insurance; risk coping mechanisms; |
| JEL: | O53 O17 I38 D10 D81 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dau:papers:123456789/13208&r=cwa |