The study explores whether urban and rural disparities in terms of material and non-material cond... more The study explores whether urban and rural disparities in terms of material and non-material conditions are reflected in the happiness of rural and urban residents in the case of Turkey. The study aims at contributing to the empirical literature on the geographic dimension of happiness by examining differences in rural and urban determinants in the case of a developing country since developing countries have been rarely examined despite their rapid urbanization and their efforts to improve rural development. We analyze the data from a nationally representative survey collected by TURKSTAT through a series of linear and ordered logit regressions. The findings of the study indicate that the mean happiness of urban areas is higher than that of rural areas over time, apart from 2011, while there is a convergence between rural and urban happiness on average. In estimated regressions, we could not find statistically significant coefficients on a rural dummy. In separate estimations for both sub-samples, we found that differences in rural and urban happiness occur especially in economic estimators. Employment status, social security coverage, and income level are not statistically significant estimators of the rural sample, contrary to the urban sample and the sample as a whole. Also, the perceived social pressure and positive expectations for the country’s future are not statistically significant for the rural sample, while they are significant for the urban sample. Finally, urban happiness is positively correlated with both satisfaction with central public services and local public services, while rural happiness has a statistically signi¿ cant association only with those of central government services.
Although countries have had concerns about energy security and energy supply for a long time, glo... more Although countries have had concerns about energy security and energy supply for a long time, global warming and other environmental problems have led to increased interest in renewable energy use and energy efficiency only in the last decades. On the one hand, energy efficiency is important for cost-effective use of resources, overcoming environmental problems, and improving energy security. On the other hand, it is important for increasing living standards and life quality of inhabitants. Therefore, many countries have developed energy efficiency policies since 1970s. Among them, the EU countries appear as in a very good shape in policy design and innovation policies. Energy efficiency policies and their instruments are inherently complex due to the sectoral diversity, a variety of audience and uses. However, the success of a policy could largely depend on the process of policy making with regard to the characteristics of the policy, instruments and measures used, stakeholders involved and its targets. This paper aims to examine the effect of policy packages on the impact level of policies and to search if there is any efficient combination of policy instruments, based on the data of the MURE project which is a unique database on energy efficiency policy measures in 28 EU countries and Norway. First, the study provides an insight into the energy efficiency policies in European Countries by their sectoral distribution, targeted end-use and measure types to determine policy mix and policy trend. Later, it analyzes the policy packages to determine if the policy mix with respect to sectors, actors and measures has any effect on semi-quantitative impact levels of policies through cross-tabulations. The main finding of the paper is that the policy mix is crucial for policy success.
The impact of tax policy and tax structure on national saving level is an important question for ... more The impact of tax policy and tax structure on national saving level is an important question for both macroeconomic stabilization and growth purposes, for especially developing countries. This paper examines the impact of tax structure on domestic saving for Turkey through cointegration and vector error correction models from 1965-2011 annual data. The results indicate that there are unidirectional Granger causalities to domestic saving from variables on tax for short-run coefficients. For the long-run, taxes on income as a share of total tax revenue found to be having negative impact on domestic saving, while the ratio of consumption taxes to total tax revenue found to be having negative impact on domestic saving. While the results are consistent with theoretical literature, they may be expected to contribute to empirical discussion of design the tax policy on developing countries and Turkey where do not have enough empirical finding in the field.
Double tax treaties (DTT) are mainly signed to overcome the problem of international double taxat... more Double tax treaties (DTT) are mainly signed to overcome the problem of international double taxation and to coordinate national tax systems in bilateral or multilateral economic interactions. However, one more reason to engage in DTTs is to facilitate international economic flows for capital especially and to attract foreign capital. To increase foreign direct investment (FDI) is a desirable policy goal for both developing and developed countries. In order to examine whether DDTs have significant impact on FDIs, this paper analyzes Turkey’s outward FDI stocks to 71 host countries over the period of 2001-2012. In analyses, we use Turkey’s FDI stock toward the host countries as dependent variable. In addition a number of control variables, we analyze the impact of a dummy of presence of DTTs and the age of treaty. As the estimation technique, we mainly use fixed effect estimators and regressions with panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) to handle heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation, in addition to some other specifications for robustness aims. After controlling for various determinants of bilateral FDI stocks, the study’s results show that DTTs are indeed positively associated with foreign investment toward the host country from Turkey. This finding supports policy considerations on the impact of DTTs on FDIs. The results hold for various of specifications.
Bir ülkenin ya da ülke içinde yaşayan vatandaĢların refahının kiĢi baĢı milli gelirle ölçümü refa... more Bir ülkenin ya da ülke içinde yaşayan vatandaĢların refahının kiĢi baĢı milli gelirle ölçümü refahın doğru ölçümü olmamakla eleştirilmektedir. Bireylerin refahı maddi refahın ötesinde kaynaklara erişim ve kullanımla ilgili ve çoğu durumda sosyal ve psikolojik faktörlerle de bağlantılıdır. Bu yaklaĢımın ve Amartya Sen‘in görüşleri neticesinde Birleşmiş Milletler çerçevesinde 1980‘lerin başında ―insani kalkınma göstergeleri çalışması gelişmiştir. Son yıllarda bu konuya ilgili daha da gelişmiş olup OECD‘nin Daha İyi Hayat indeksi gibi uluslararası kurumlarca çalışmalar geliştirmişlerdir. Bu son gelişmeleri tetikleyen akademik literatür bireylerin sübjektif refah algısına odaklanır. Bu literatürde bireylerin sübjektif refah algısı (mutluluk ya da hayat tatmini) ve maddi gelir arasındaki iliĢki önemli bir tartışma konusudur. Ülkeler arası yatay kesit karşılaştırmalar ülkelerin gelir seviyesi ile mutluluk seviyesi arasında bir korelasyon ortaya koyuyorsa da panel ve zaman serisi çalışmalar belirli gelir seviyesinden sonra gelir ve mutluluk arasında ilişkinin istatistiksel anlamının ortadan kalkmaya başladığına dair bulgular ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışma TÜİK tarafından yürütülen Yaşam Memnuniyeti Araştırması‘nın mikroverisine dayanarak Kastamonu‘da mutluluğun belirleyicilerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Sözkonusu veri 2013 yılı için illere göre veri kullanımına izin vermekte ve birey ve hanehalkı seviyesinde demografik değiĢkenlerin yanısıra mutluluk, hayattan tatmin, sağlık algısı, kamu hizmetlerinden memnuniyet, güvenlik problemleri, gelir seviyesi ve geleceğe iliĢkin beklentilere dair birey seviyesinde bilgi edinilebilmektedir. Çalışma, önce mutluluk seviyesini (gelir seviyesini de dikkate alarak) iller arasında karĢılaĢtırarak Kastamonu‘nun pozisyonunu ortaya koyacak arkasından yukarda anılan değiĢkenlere göre Kastamonu‘da mutluluğun belirleyicileri çapraz tablolarla, varyans analizi ve korelasyonlarla ele alınacaktır.
The study explores whether urban and rural disparities in terms of material and non-material cond... more The study explores whether urban and rural disparities in terms of material and non-material conditions are reflected in the happiness of rural and urban residents in the case of Turkey. The study aims at contributing to the empirical literature on the geographic dimension of happiness by examining differences in rural and urban determinants in the case of a developing country since developing countries have been rarely examined despite their rapid urbanization and their efforts to improve rural development. We analyze the data from a nationally representative survey collected by TURKSTAT through a series of linear and ordered logit regressions. The findings of the study indicate that the mean happiness of urban areas is higher than that of rural areas over time, apart from 2011, while there is a convergence between rural and urban happiness on average. In estimated regressions, we could not find statistically significant coefficients on a rural dummy. In separate estimations for both sub-samples, we found that differences in rural and urban happiness occur especially in economic estimators. Employment status, social security coverage, and income level are not statistically significant estimators of the rural sample, contrary to the urban sample and the sample as a whole. Also, the perceived social pressure and positive expectations for the country’s future are not statistically significant for the rural sample, while they are significant for the urban sample. Finally, urban happiness is positively correlated with both satisfaction with central public services and local public services, while rural happiness has a statistically signi¿ cant association only with those of central government services.
Although countries have had concerns about energy security and energy supply for a long time, glo... more Although countries have had concerns about energy security and energy supply for a long time, global warming and other environmental problems have led to increased interest in renewable energy use and energy efficiency only in the last decades. On the one hand, energy efficiency is important for cost-effective use of resources, overcoming environmental problems, and improving energy security. On the other hand, it is important for increasing living standards and life quality of inhabitants. Therefore, many countries have developed energy efficiency policies since 1970s. Among them, the EU countries appear as in a very good shape in policy design and innovation policies. Energy efficiency policies and their instruments are inherently complex due to the sectoral diversity, a variety of audience and uses. However, the success of a policy could largely depend on the process of policy making with regard to the characteristics of the policy, instruments and measures used, stakeholders involved and its targets. This paper aims to examine the effect of policy packages on the impact level of policies and to search if there is any efficient combination of policy instruments, based on the data of the MURE project which is a unique database on energy efficiency policy measures in 28 EU countries and Norway. First, the study provides an insight into the energy efficiency policies in European Countries by their sectoral distribution, targeted end-use and measure types to determine policy mix and policy trend. Later, it analyzes the policy packages to determine if the policy mix with respect to sectors, actors and measures has any effect on semi-quantitative impact levels of policies through cross-tabulations. The main finding of the paper is that the policy mix is crucial for policy success.
The impact of tax policy and tax structure on national saving level is an important question for ... more The impact of tax policy and tax structure on national saving level is an important question for both macroeconomic stabilization and growth purposes, for especially developing countries. This paper examines the impact of tax structure on domestic saving for Turkey through cointegration and vector error correction models from 1965-2011 annual data. The results indicate that there are unidirectional Granger causalities to domestic saving from variables on tax for short-run coefficients. For the long-run, taxes on income as a share of total tax revenue found to be having negative impact on domestic saving, while the ratio of consumption taxes to total tax revenue found to be having negative impact on domestic saving. While the results are consistent with theoretical literature, they may be expected to contribute to empirical discussion of design the tax policy on developing countries and Turkey where do not have enough empirical finding in the field.
Double tax treaties (DTT) are mainly signed to overcome the problem of international double taxat... more Double tax treaties (DTT) are mainly signed to overcome the problem of international double taxation and to coordinate national tax systems in bilateral or multilateral economic interactions. However, one more reason to engage in DTTs is to facilitate international economic flows for capital especially and to attract foreign capital. To increase foreign direct investment (FDI) is a desirable policy goal for both developing and developed countries. In order to examine whether DDTs have significant impact on FDIs, this paper analyzes Turkey’s outward FDI stocks to 71 host countries over the period of 2001-2012. In analyses, we use Turkey’s FDI stock toward the host countries as dependent variable. In addition a number of control variables, we analyze the impact of a dummy of presence of DTTs and the age of treaty. As the estimation technique, we mainly use fixed effect estimators and regressions with panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) to handle heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation, in addition to some other specifications for robustness aims. After controlling for various determinants of bilateral FDI stocks, the study’s results show that DTTs are indeed positively associated with foreign investment toward the host country from Turkey. This finding supports policy considerations on the impact of DTTs on FDIs. The results hold for various of specifications.
Bir ülkenin ya da ülke içinde yaşayan vatandaĢların refahının kiĢi baĢı milli gelirle ölçümü refa... more Bir ülkenin ya da ülke içinde yaşayan vatandaĢların refahının kiĢi baĢı milli gelirle ölçümü refahın doğru ölçümü olmamakla eleştirilmektedir. Bireylerin refahı maddi refahın ötesinde kaynaklara erişim ve kullanımla ilgili ve çoğu durumda sosyal ve psikolojik faktörlerle de bağlantılıdır. Bu yaklaĢımın ve Amartya Sen‘in görüşleri neticesinde Birleşmiş Milletler çerçevesinde 1980‘lerin başında ―insani kalkınma göstergeleri çalışması gelişmiştir. Son yıllarda bu konuya ilgili daha da gelişmiş olup OECD‘nin Daha İyi Hayat indeksi gibi uluslararası kurumlarca çalışmalar geliştirmişlerdir. Bu son gelişmeleri tetikleyen akademik literatür bireylerin sübjektif refah algısına odaklanır. Bu literatürde bireylerin sübjektif refah algısı (mutluluk ya da hayat tatmini) ve maddi gelir arasındaki iliĢki önemli bir tartışma konusudur. Ülkeler arası yatay kesit karşılaştırmalar ülkelerin gelir seviyesi ile mutluluk seviyesi arasında bir korelasyon ortaya koyuyorsa da panel ve zaman serisi çalışmalar belirli gelir seviyesinden sonra gelir ve mutluluk arasında ilişkinin istatistiksel anlamının ortadan kalkmaya başladığına dair bulgular ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışma TÜİK tarafından yürütülen Yaşam Memnuniyeti Araştırması‘nın mikroverisine dayanarak Kastamonu‘da mutluluğun belirleyicilerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Sözkonusu veri 2013 yılı için illere göre veri kullanımına izin vermekte ve birey ve hanehalkı seviyesinde demografik değiĢkenlerin yanısıra mutluluk, hayattan tatmin, sağlık algısı, kamu hizmetlerinden memnuniyet, güvenlik problemleri, gelir seviyesi ve geleceğe iliĢkin beklentilere dair birey seviyesinde bilgi edinilebilmektedir. Çalışma, önce mutluluk seviyesini (gelir seviyesini de dikkate alarak) iller arasında karĢılaĢtırarak Kastamonu‘nun pozisyonunu ortaya koyacak arkasından yukarda anılan değiĢkenlere göre Kastamonu‘da mutluluğun belirleyicileri çapraz tablolarla, varyans analizi ve korelasyonlarla ele alınacaktır.
This chapter deals with the instruments and policies to achieve energy efficiency in some of the ... more This chapter deals with the instruments and policies to achieve energy efficiency in some of the European Union (EU) member states. The main aim of the study is to search for any efficient combination of policy instruments in the EU. The analysis is based on a unique database, derived out of the MURE project, related to energy efficiency policy measures in 28 EU countries and Norway. The study first describes and evaluates the main purposes and instruments of energy efficiency policies. Then, it classifies the measures applied to promote energy efficiency in sample countries by sectors and examines the impact level of different policy packages on energy efficiency.
Handbook of Research on Public Finance in Europe and the MENA Region
The chapter examines tax structure and its relation to good governance and economic development i... more The chapter examines tax structure and its relation to good governance and economic development in the MENA countries. First, it discusses how different tax systems and tax structures in the region compared with other countries. MENA region can be characterized with low level of tax-to-GDP ratio compared to other groups of countries. However, tax systems considerably diverge within the region. Most importantly, whether having hydrocarbon revenues meaningfully divides the region's countries with respect to tax composition, tax levels, tax ratios and tax regimes. Literature suggests that natural resource revenue is also an important determinant of governance and institutional development that have impact on economic development, while good governance, a more legitimate and responsive state is an essential factor for a more adequate level of tax effort. Therefore, the second section of the study examines the relationships between taxation and good governance with emphasis on the MENA region.
Selçuk Üniversitesinden Doç. Dr. Savaş Çevik’in hazırladığı bu raporda; vergi yükünde ve yapısınd... more Selçuk Üniversitesinden Doç. Dr. Savaş Çevik’in hazırladığı bu raporda; vergi yükünde ve yapısındaki genel eğilimler ve Türkiye’nin pozisyonu değerlendirilmekte, gelir ve tüketim üzerinden alınan vergiler ele alınmakta, vergi sistemimizde tüketim üzerindeki vergi yükünün yüksek olduğu dikkate alınarak tüketim vergilemesinin sorunlu alanları irdelenmektedir. Ayrıca, kayıtdışılık ve vergi kaçırma sorunları ile vergi yönetiminin genel durumu da değerlendirilerek Türk vergi sisteminin temel sorunları ortaya konmakta ve bu sorunların çözümüne yönelik somut öneriler sunulmaktadır.
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We analyze the data from a nationally representative survey collected by TURKSTAT through a series of linear and ordered logit regressions. The findings of the study indicate that the mean happiness of urban areas is higher than that of rural areas over time, apart from 2011, while there is a convergence between rural and urban
happiness on average. In estimated regressions, we could not find statistically significant coefficients on a rural dummy. In separate estimations for both sub-samples, we found that differences in rural and urban happiness occur especially in
economic estimators. Employment status, social security coverage, and income level are not statistically significant estimators of the rural sample, contrary to the urban sample and the sample as a whole. Also, the perceived social pressure and
positive expectations for the country’s future are not statistically significant for the rural sample, while they are significant for the urban sample. Finally, urban happiness is positively correlated with both satisfaction with central public services and local public services, while rural happiness has a statistically signi¿ cant association only
with those of central government services.
Ülkeler arası yatay kesit karşılaştırmalar ülkelerin gelir seviyesi ile mutluluk seviyesi arasında bir korelasyon ortaya koyuyorsa da panel ve zaman serisi çalışmalar belirli gelir seviyesinden sonra gelir ve mutluluk arasında ilişkinin istatistiksel anlamının ortadan kalkmaya başladığına dair bulgular ortaya koymaktadır.
Çalışma TÜİK tarafından yürütülen Yaşam Memnuniyeti Araştırması‘nın mikroverisine dayanarak Kastamonu‘da mutluluğun belirleyicilerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Sözkonusu veri 2013 yılı için illere göre veri kullanımına izin vermekte ve birey ve hanehalkı seviyesinde demografik değiĢkenlerin yanısıra mutluluk, hayattan tatmin, sağlık algısı, kamu hizmetlerinden memnuniyet, güvenlik problemleri, gelir seviyesi ve geleceğe iliĢkin beklentilere dair birey seviyesinde bilgi edinilebilmektedir.
Çalışma, önce mutluluk seviyesini (gelir seviyesini de dikkate alarak) iller arasında karĢılaĢtırarak Kastamonu‘nun pozisyonunu ortaya koyacak arkasından yukarda anılan değiĢkenlere göre Kastamonu‘da mutluluğun belirleyicileri çapraz tablolarla, varyans analizi ve korelasyonlarla ele alınacaktır.
We analyze the data from a nationally representative survey collected by TURKSTAT through a series of linear and ordered logit regressions. The findings of the study indicate that the mean happiness of urban areas is higher than that of rural areas over time, apart from 2011, while there is a convergence between rural and urban
happiness on average. In estimated regressions, we could not find statistically significant coefficients on a rural dummy. In separate estimations for both sub-samples, we found that differences in rural and urban happiness occur especially in
economic estimators. Employment status, social security coverage, and income level are not statistically significant estimators of the rural sample, contrary to the urban sample and the sample as a whole. Also, the perceived social pressure and
positive expectations for the country’s future are not statistically significant for the rural sample, while they are significant for the urban sample. Finally, urban happiness is positively correlated with both satisfaction with central public services and local public services, while rural happiness has a statistically signi¿ cant association only
with those of central government services.
Ülkeler arası yatay kesit karşılaştırmalar ülkelerin gelir seviyesi ile mutluluk seviyesi arasında bir korelasyon ortaya koyuyorsa da panel ve zaman serisi çalışmalar belirli gelir seviyesinden sonra gelir ve mutluluk arasında ilişkinin istatistiksel anlamının ortadan kalkmaya başladığına dair bulgular ortaya koymaktadır.
Çalışma TÜİK tarafından yürütülen Yaşam Memnuniyeti Araştırması‘nın mikroverisine dayanarak Kastamonu‘da mutluluğun belirleyicilerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Sözkonusu veri 2013 yılı için illere göre veri kullanımına izin vermekte ve birey ve hanehalkı seviyesinde demografik değiĢkenlerin yanısıra mutluluk, hayattan tatmin, sağlık algısı, kamu hizmetlerinden memnuniyet, güvenlik problemleri, gelir seviyesi ve geleceğe iliĢkin beklentilere dair birey seviyesinde bilgi edinilebilmektedir.
Çalışma, önce mutluluk seviyesini (gelir seviyesini de dikkate alarak) iller arasında karĢılaĢtırarak Kastamonu‘nun pozisyonunu ortaya koyacak arkasından yukarda anılan değiĢkenlere göre Kastamonu‘da mutluluğun belirleyicileri çapraz tablolarla, varyans analizi ve korelasyonlarla ele alınacaktır.