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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Schulte, Simon (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI)); Weiser, Florian (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI)) |
| Abstract: | Turkey is a key country in order to realize the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) due to its geographical location. However, as the main transit country within the SGC, Turkey could potentially exert market power with gas transits. Whether Turkey exerts market power or not, is crucial for an economic assessment of the SGC. Hence, the article investigates this issue quantitatively using a global partial equilibrium gas market model. An oligopolistic and a competitive supply structure in Europe in 2030 are considered in the model. If the European gas market in 2030 is characterized by an oligopolistic supply, Turkey is able to exert market power resulting in higher prices compared to competitive transits, in particular in South Eastern Europe. In a competitive market structure, however, the importance of the SGC and thus the potential of Turkish transit market power is limited. |
| Keywords: | Natural Gas; Southern Gas Corridor; Transit Market Power; Mixed Complementarity Problem |
| JEL: | L13 L95 |
| Date: | 2017–07–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:ewikln:2017_006&r=cwa |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | Since its independence, Armenia has made significant strides in enhancing macroeconomic stability. Growth has been satisfactory with inflation under control and the fiscal situation broadly well managed. Lately, adverse external developments have led to significant falls in remittances and the price of copper, Armenia’s main export. Following subdued growth in 2016, the economy is expected to gradually recover in 2017, but the outlook is clouded by downside risks and tough challenges remain: growth continues to be volatile and narrowly based, trade opportunities remain limited, and public debt has increased sharply. Following important reforms in the energy sector and the tax code, the government is determined to tackle corruption, improve competition, and promote sustainable growth. |
| Keywords: | Middle East;Armenia; |
| Date: | 2017–07–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:17/226&r=cwa |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | Turkey has made considerable strides in enhancing its fiscal transparency practices over the past decade and a half. Since first volunteering for a Fiscal Transparency ROSC1 in 2000, Turkey has substantially improved the comprehensiveness, timeliness, and reliability of publicly available fiscal information. In particular, over the past 15 years |
| Keywords: | Europe;Turkey; |
| Date: | 2017–07–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:17/208&r=cwa |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | Republic of Armenia: Selected Issues |
| Keywords: | Armenia;Middle East; |
| Date: | 2017–07–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:17/227&r=cwa |
| By: | Altindag, Duha T. (Auburn University); Filiz, S. Elif (University of Southern Mississippi); Tekin, Erdal (American University) |
| Abstract: | An important question in representative democracies is how to ensure that politicians behave in the best interest of citizens rather than their own private interests. Aside from elections, one of the few institutional devices available to regulate the actions of politicians is their pay structure. In this paper, we provide fresh insights into the impact of politician salaries on their performance using a unique law change implemented in 2012 in Turkey. Specifically, the members of the parliament (MPs) in Turkey who are retired from their pre-political career jobs earn a pension bonus on top of their MP salaries. The law change in 2012 significantly increased the pension bonus by pegging it to 18 percent of the salary of the President of Turkey, while keeping the salaries of non-retired MPs unchanged. By exploiting the variation in total salaries caused by the new law in a difference-in-differences framework, we find that the salary increase had a negative impact on the performance of the retired MPs. In particular, the overall performance of these MPs was lowered by 12.3 percent of a standard deviation as a result of the increase in salary caused by the new law. This finding is robust to numerous specification tests. Furthermore, the results obtained from an auxiliary analysis suggest that one of the mechanisms through which MPs reduce their performance is through absenteeism. |
| Keywords: | politician, MP, members of the parliament, performance, salary, bonus, Turkey, election |
| JEL: | J22 J26 J33 J45 |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10923&r=cwa |
| By: | Di Paolo, Antonio (University of Barcelona); Tansel, Aysit (Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the drivers of wage differences among college graduates who hold a degree in a different field of study. We focus on Turkey, an emerging country that is characterized by a sustained expansion of higher education. We estimate conditional wage gaps by field of study using OLS regressions. Average differentials are subsequently decomposed into the contribution of observable characteristics (endowment) and unobservable characteristics (returns). To shed light on distributional wage disparities by field of study, we provide estimates along the unconditional wage distribution by means of RIF-Regressions. Finally, we also decompose the contribution of explained and unexplained factors in accounting for wage gaps along the whole distribution. As such, this is the first work providing evidence on distributional wage differences by college major for a developing country. The results indicate the existence of important wage differences by field of study, which are partly accounted by differences in observable characteristics (especially occupation and, to a lesser extent, employment sector). These pay gaps are also heterogeneous over the unconditional distribution of wages, as is the share of wage differentials that can be attributed to differences in observable characteristics across workers with degrees in different fields of study. |
| Keywords: | fields of study, wage differentials, decomposition, unconditional wage distribution, Turkey |
| JEL: | J31 J24 I23 |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10915&r=cwa |