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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Derya Findik (Science and Technology Policy Studies Program, Middle East Technical University 06800 Ankara, Turkey); Aysit Tansel (Cornell University, Ithaca, USA & Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey) |
| Abstract: | This chapter analyzes the effect of intangible investment on firm efficiency with an emphasis on its software component. Stochastic production frontier approach is used to simultaneously estimate the production function and the determinants of technical efficiency in the software intensive manufacturing firms in Turkey for the period 2003-2007. Firms are classified based on the technology group. High technology and low technology firms are estimated separately in order to reveal differentials in their firm efficiency. The results show that the effect of software investment on firm efficiency is larger in high technology firms which operate in areas such as chemicals, electricity, and machinery as compared to that of the low technology firms which operate in areas such as textiles, food, paper, and unclassified manufacturing. Further, among the high technology firms, the effect of the software investment is smaller than the effect of research and development personnel expenditure. This result shows that the presence of R&D personnel is more important than the software investment for software intensive manufacturing firms in Turkey. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tek:wpaper:2015/11&r=all |
| By: | Stephen Langrell (European Commission – Directorate General for Health and Food Safety); Sebastian Mary (DePaul University – Department of Economics); Pavel Ciaian (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Sergio Gomez y Paloma (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Natalya SHAGAIDA (RANEPA, Moscow, Russia); Renata Yanbykh (VIAPI, Moscow, Russia); Peter Voight (European Commission - Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs); Ashok K. Mishra (Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA); Amaranth Tripathi (Institute for Economic Growth, Delhi, India); Holly Wang (Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA); Thomas Fellmann (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Sergio René Araujo Enciso (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Jacques Delince (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Guna Salputra (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Thomas Fellmann (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Fabien Santini (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Robert M'barek (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Marco Artavia (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | Food security remains to be a major societal concern. In the light of the current expectations of population growth, world food production has to be massively increased to sustain the associated food demand rise. While agricultural productivity was rising during recent decades in the US, Europe and also in some developing countries, the corresponding growth rates lately appeared to be slowing down. In fact, the only world region with a significant amount of arable land, which currently is not under cultivation and which at the same time is, moreover, experiencing rising productivity figures, is the so called 'Eurasian wheat belt', comprising of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Central Asian countries, namely Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kirgizstan. In this light, the Joint Research Centre and the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development organized a thematic workshop, held during 20 – 22 May 2014 in Istanbul/Turkey, set up to bring experts on the matter together and to discuss to what extent these countries could play a role for regional and international food security. Following the workshop analysis and discussion, this report provides a comprehensive technical overview of the wheat production, and the main factors to achieve full production potential across the Eurasian wheat belt with regards to national, regional and global issues of cereal supply and food security in evolving global markets. It reviews key horizontal issues, such as land policy, credit and finance, privatization, farm structures, social consequences of transition, environmental challenges, against the backdrop of agrarian reforms implemented during the transition period. In addition the report explores production potential and corresponding institutional and policy restrictions in a series of Eurasian countries. Finally, the report closes with expert opined policy-relevant conclusions as a basis for policy suggestions and recommendations. |
| Keywords: | Food security; Eurasia; CIS; Wheat; Transition; Land reform; Agricultural policy; Agricultural markets; Russia; Ukraine; Kazakhstan. |
| JEL: | Q02 Q13 Q15 Q18 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc95580&r=all |
| By: | Resul Cesur; Pınar Mine Güneş; Erdal Tekin; Aydogan Ulker |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of universal, free, and easily accessible primary healthcare on population health as measured by age-specific birth and mortality rates, focusing on a nationwide socialized medicine program implemented in Turkey. The Family Medicine Program (FMP), launched in 2005, assigns each Turkish citizen to a specific state-employed family physician, who offers a wide range of primary healthcare services that are free-of-charge. Furthermore, these services are provided at family health centers, which operate on a walk-in basis and are located within the neighborhoods in close proximity to the patients. To identify the causal impact of the FMP, we exploit the variation in its introduction across provinces and over time. Our estimates indicate that the FMP caused large declines in mortality rates across all age groups with more pronounced impacts among infants and the elderly, and a moderate reduction in the birth rates, primarily among teenagers. Furthermore, the results are suggestive that the program has also contributed towards equalization in the mortality disparities across provinces. Our findings highlight the importance of a nationwide supply-side intervention on improving public health. |
| JEL: | I0 I1 I11 I13 I14 I18 J13 J14 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21510&r=all |
| By: | Aydemir, Abdurrahman (Sabanci University); Kirdar, Murat G. (Bogazici University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we estimate the returns on schooling for young men and women in Turkey using the exogenous and substantial variation in schooling across birth-cohorts brought about by the 1997 reform of compulsory schooling. We estimate that among 18- to 26-year-olds, the return from an extra year of schooling is almost zero for men and 3.8 percent for women. The low level of these estimates contrasts starkly with those estimated for other developing countries. We identify several reasons why the returns on schooling are low and why they are higher for women in our context. In particular, the policy alters the schooling distributions of men and women differently, thus the average causal effect we estimate puts a higher weight on the causal effect of schooling at higher grade levels for women than for men. |
| Keywords: | returns to education, compulsory schooling laws, wages, gender |
| JEL: | J18 J31 I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9274&r=all |
| By: | Daniya Tlegenova |
| Abstract: | This paper models yearly exchange rates between USD/KZT, EUR/KZT and SGD/KZT, and compares the actual data with developed forecasts using time series analysis over the period from 2006 to 2014. The official yearly data of National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan is used for present study. The main goal of this paper is to apply the ARIMA model for forecasting of yearly exchange rates of USD/KZT, EUR/KZT and SGD/KZT. The accuracy of the forecast is compared with Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE). |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1508.07534&r=all |