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on Arab World |
| By: | Simone Tagliapietra (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | This paper, presenting a wide range of issues related to the role of Turkey in the Mediterranean energy context, aims to provide a comprehensive framework of understanding of the growing strategic relevance of Turkey for both the European Union and the overall Euro-Mediterranean region. In particular, the paper focuses on the EU-Turkey energy relations and outlines the crucial role of natural gas in enhancing energy cooperation between the two players. In 2010 about 80% of EU gas imports derived from only three suppliers: Russian Federation, Norway and Algeria. This heavy dependence on such a few suppliers stimulated the European Commission to make the concept of diversification a cornerstone of its energy policy and to launch the concept of the Southern Gas Corridor, an initiative aimed to develop a natural gas transit corridor from Caspian and Middle Eastern gas-rich regions to Europe, in order to ease the dependency on the natural gas imported from the Russian Federation. An initiative that could shift the "centre of gravity" of the regional gas transit from the north to the south of the Black Sea, allowing Turkey to become a key transit country in the future European gas market; a pivotal element in the European gas security of supply architecture. Furthermore, the paper also considers the enormous renewable energy potential of Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries, to which Turkey could greatly contribute in terms of technology transfer and manufacturing know-how. Turkey’s involvement in the Union for the Mediterranean offers a great opportunity for energy cooperation both between the EU and Turkey and within the overall Euro-Mediterranean region. Such large-scale renewable energy projects could greatly contribute to the economic development of the overall Mediterranean region, and also to its social and political stability. Considering the lack of a wide and comprehensive EU-Turkey energy cooperation scheme, the paper proposes a series of policy priorities pointed to enhance this bilateral relationship and also the wider Euro-Mediterranean integration process. |
| Keywords: | Turkey, Mediterranean, EU Security of Supply, Energy geopolitics |
| JEL: | Q40 Q42 Q48 |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2012.66&r=ara |
| By: | Islahi, Abdul Azim |
| Abstract: | This is a critical evaluation of the book entitled The Long Divergence:How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East by Timur Kuran. |
| Keywords: | Economic History of Middle East; Ottoman Economic History; Decadence of Muslim East; Islamic law |
| JEL: | N85 O1 P00 K00 P51 N80 B00 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:42146&r=ara |
| By: | Doruk Kucuksarac; Ozgur Ozel; Sinem Ucarkaya |
| Abstract: | [TR] Bu notta Turkiye’nin net doviz pozisyonu kisa ve uzun vadeli bilesenlerine ayristirilarak sunulmaktadir. Kisa vadeli net doviz pozisyonu bir yil ve daha kisa vadeli varliklar ile yukumlulukler arasindaki farktan olusmaktadir. Not kapsaminda hanehalki, finansal kesim disinda yer alan firmalar (reel sektor), bankalar, banka disi mali kuruluslar (BDMK), Turkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankasi (TCMB) ve kamu kesimi ele alinmistir. Mart 2012 itibariyla Turkiye’nin kisa vadede 121.96 milyar ABD dolari net doviz pozisyon fazlasi, uzun vadede ise 87 milyar dolar net doviz pozisyon acigi bulunmakta ve ele alinan kesimler arasinda farklilasmalar oldugu dikkat cekmektedir. [EN] This note presents the net financial foreign currency position of Turkey by separating its short and long term components. Short term foreign currency position encompasses the difference between the assets and liabilities up to one year maturity. The note analyzes the household, non-financial firms (real sector), banks, non-bank financial firms, Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) and the public sector. As of March 2012, Turkey has a short term foreign currency position surplus of 121.96 billion USD and long term foreign currency open position of 87 billion USD. However, there is cross sectional discrepancy among the sectors analyzed. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcb:econot:1227&r=ara |
| By: | Yasin Akcelik; Orcan Cortuk; Ibrahim M. Turhan |
| Abstract: | We study the trilemma configuration of the Turkish economy for the period between 2002 and 2012. The paper starts by empirically testing the Mundell-Fleming theoretical concept of an \impossible trinity" (trilemma) for Turkey, following Aizenman, Chinn and Ito (ACI, 2008). This includes calculating the trilemma indices and regressing them on a constant. We show that there is a misspecification with ACI approach and improve the specification by applying a Kalman filter to the classical linear regression that enables us to capture the time-varying importance of policy decisions within the trilemma framework. By comparing the residuals of each approach, we show that Kalman filter analysis has superior results. Then, our analysis continues by revealing a role for central bank foreign reserves and required reserves in mitigating the trilemma tradeoffs { we show that foreign reserves to GDP ratio and required reserve ratio have positive significant impact on the residuals obtained from the trilemma regression, thus making the policy tradeoffs smaller. |
| Keywords: | Trilemma, impossible trinity, required reserves, international reserves, central bank policies |
| JEL: | E44 E58 F39 F41 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcb:wpaper:1229&r=ara |
| By: | Alessia LO TURCO (Universit… Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali); Daniela MAGGIONI (Universit… Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali) |
| Abstract: | This work investigates the impact of importing, exporting and two-way trading on the firm labour demand in Turkish manufacturing. Adopting multiple propensity score matching techniques and Difference in Difference estimator, we support the positive internationalisation effects on the firm employment growth for an emergent country. Our evidence reveals the existence of complementarity effects between exports and imports, which is strengthened for high trade intensity firms. Furthermore, only high intensity exporting seems to promote the workforce skill upgrading, as measured by the R&D worker share. The disclosed employment effect reflects the large positive impact of firminternationalisation on its production scale. |
| Keywords: | Exporter, Importer, Turkey, Two-way traders, employment, firm growth |
| JEL: | C41 F14 F16 J62 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:383&r=ara |
| By: | Divarci A.; Boone Ch.; Van Witteloostuijn A. |
| Abstract: | Neo-institutionalist perspectives of globalization envision the homogenization of the world through global cultural, economic and political dynamics, while glocalization theory highlights how local cultures may adapt or resist global forces. Based on these theories, we analyze when, where, and why local hybrid organizational forms do emerge as a reaction to globalization. We suggest that the impact of globalization on the emergence and expansion of hybrid organizational forms, which reflect local adaptations of global forms, depend on three types of moderators: the experience of the local community with alternative organizational forms, the motivation of the local community to adapt, and, finally, the fit between global and local ideas, values and practices. We test our hypotheses with data of the high school education system in Turkey from 1990 to 2007, a period in which Turkey experienced a growing impact of globalization. |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ant:wpaper:2012022&r=ara |
| By: | Ufuk Demiroglu |
| Abstract: | [TR] Bir ulkenin makine techizat ve yapi stoklari (yenilenebilir sabit sermayesi) o ulkenin uretim kapasitesini belirleyen onemli bir faktordur, ve potansiyel GSYH tahminlerine onemli bir girdi teskil etmektedir. Bu notta Turkiye’deki yapi stogu (konut, isyeri, okul veya hastane yapilari; endustriyel veya ticari tesislerin binalari; yollar; kopruler vb.) cok yaklasik deger olarak GSYH’nin bir bucuk kati, makine techizat stogu ise yarisi civarinda tahmin edilmistir. Yapi stogunun 3 kat daha buyuk olmasina ragmen, yapilarin yipranma orani dusuk oldugu icin toplam kullanici maliyeti bakimindan bu iki stok turu benzesmektedir. Uretime katki yetenegi ile kullanici maliyetlerinin orantili olmasi gereginden yola cikarak, bu iki stok turunun uretime katkilarinin 1 : 3 degil 1 : 1 oranina daha yakin oldugu sonucuna ulasilmaktadir. Buyume muhasebesi hesaplarinda kullanim amaciyla, anilan katki oranini dogru olarak yansitan bir sermaye hizmetleri endeksi olusturulmustur. Bu endeks yerine toplam sermaye stogunun dogrudan kullanilmasi, yatirimlardaki hizlanma ve yavaslamalarin Turkiye’deki uretim potansiyeline etkisini oldugundan %40 civarinda daha dusuk gosterebilmektedir. [EN] The stocks of machinery-equipment and structures (reproducible fixed capital) of an economy are an important determinant of the productive capacity of that economy, and are an important input for potential GDP estimates. In this note, the stock of structures (residential or office buildings, the structures of schools and hospitals, other industrial or commercial structures, roads, bridges, etc.) is estimated to be very roughly one-and-one-half of GDP in terms of value, while the stock of machinery and equipment is estimated at half of GDP. Although the stock of structures is about three times as much, due to the low depreciation rate of structures, their total user cost is similar to that of the stock of machinery and equipment. Given that the productive ability and user cost must be related, this note reaches the conclusion that the contributions of those two types of stocks to total production have a ratio closer to one-to-one rather than one-to-three. This note computes a capital services index that reflects this ratio of contributions correctly to use in growth accounting for Turkey. Using the aggregate capital stock instead of this index would result in underestimating the cyclical effect of investment on Turkish potential GDP by up to 40 percent. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcb:econot:1226&r=ara |
| By: | Alessia LO TURCO (Universit… Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali); Daniela MAGGIONI (Universit… Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali) |
| Abstract: | Making use of an original firm-product level dataset for Turkish manufacturing, we dissect the role of importing, exporting and the joint involvement in both activities on the firm product scope and new product introduction. Within the bulk of overall exports, we identify and focus on foreign sales of own produced goods. From the comparison between a single and a multiple treatment approach, it emerges that the simultaneous entry in the import and export markets delivers the highest innovation rate. Even if we disclose the existence of important complementarities between the two trade activities, starting to export appears as the real driver of firm product innovation. On the contrary and differently from previous evidence, when moving to a multi-treatment setting, the impact of importing fades away. |
| Keywords: | Firm trade, Multiple Propensity Score Matching, Single Propensity ScoreMatching, product innovation |
| JEL: | D22 F14 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:384&r=ara |
| By: | Grethe, Harald; Siddig, Khalid; Goetz, Linde; Ihle, Rico |
| Abstract: | We assess the distributional effects of the transmission of world market price shocks for the highly import dependent economy of Israel. We combine a CGE simulation with an empirical cointegration analysis for assessing the direction and extent of the connectedness of Israeli and world market prices. The Israeli and the world market for wheat are found to be integrated. Price shocks are completely transmitted from the world market to the domestic Israeli market. We find negative effects on the amount of domestic household income, on consumption and on welfare. Regressive expenditure effects dominate progressive income effects so that the resulting domestic income distribution appears to be more unequal. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural trade, CGE, commodity prices, income distribution, Israel, Middle East, price transmission, Agrarhandel, CGE, Agrarpreise, Einkommensverteilung, Israel, Naher Osten, Preistransmission, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:gewi12:137154&r=ara |
| By: | Bouaziz, Zied; Triki, Mohamed |
| Abstract: | The Audit Committee plays a crucial role in protecting the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders. In fact, its effectiveness is dependent on its characteristics that relate primarily to the independence of its members, the size of the committee, the frequency of meetings and the expertise of the members of the audit committee. Indeed, we have tried to capture the effect of the characteristics of the audit committee on financial performance measured by Return On Assets (ROA) and Return On Equity (ROE). To test the validity of our hypothesis, which states the existence of a certain determinism characteristic of the audit committee on financial performance measured by ROA and ROE, we have developed two models of linear regressions. In the same furrow, we examine the effect of audit committee characteristics at each of the endogenous variables taking into account the impact of firm size and the level of debt. Our empirical validation was conducted on a sample of 26 Tunisian firms listed on the stock exchange in Tunis (Tunis Stock Exchange) over a period which lasts 4 years (2007-2010). The estimated models show satisfactory results showing the importance of the impact of the characteristics of the audit committee on the financial performance of Tunisian companies. |
| Keywords: | Audit Committee - independent members of the audit committee - frequency of meetings - Return on Assets - Return on Equity |
| JEL: | G38 |
| Date: | 2012–10–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:42175&r=ara |