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on MENA - Middle East and North Africa |
| By: | Cilasun, Seyit Mumin; Acar, Elif Oznur; Gunalp, Burak |
| Abstract: | The global economic crisis of 2008 had great repercussions on labor markets around the world. In order to mitigate the adverse effects of the crisis on employment, Turkey introduced a number of measures in the last quarter of 2008 and during the first half of 2009, such as a general reduction of social security contributions, targeted reductions for hiring youth and women, an increase in unemployment insurance payments and a more active use of the short-time working compensation program. Using the Income and Living Conditions Survey panel data for 2006-2010, this study aims at examining the role of labor market reforms in shaping the labor market performance in Turkey. To this end, we compute the Markov transition probabilities of individuals moving across three different labor market states: employment, unemployment and not in labor force. The results of the study reveal that the policy measures, in general, helped in alleviating the adverse effects of the crisis on the Turkish labor markets. The measures specifically targeting youth and women were effective in promoting the employment of these disadvantaged groups, the beneficial effects being more pronounced for women. However, the results show that after the coverage of these measures was broadened to include all workers, the advantage of young and female workers disappeared. Finally, the transition probabilities calculated for different education groups reveal that the probability of remaining in employment increases significantly with education. |
| Keywords: | Labor market reforms, Markov transition analysis, Turkish labor market |
| JEL: | J08 J16 J60 |
| Date: | 2015–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64767&r=ara |
| By: | Memet Abukan (Mu) |
| Abstract: | The discourses with respect to the language policies of the country, which were mentioned in the Tanzimat era, but were expressed more seriously in the Constitutional Period, constitute one of the main agenda topics of the new state as of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. Therefore, in the period subsequent to the establishment of the Republic, a new culture of literature and language is formed during the construction period of nation-state. The Republican Turkey established as the remainder of an empire brings along a literature and language policy in accordance with the principles of the new state. A literary society, which is referred to also as the literature of the Ataturk period, gives a new acceleration to the pre-republican language simplification movements in this period. The language simplification movement framed especially in the article of Ömer Seyfettin called “Yeni Lisan” (“New Language”) has been applied after this period. The insight in the article “Yeni Lisan” is reflected on the textbooks in line with the language simplification movements. In this study, the language in the Turkish textbook of 1930s aims at an analysis for following the track of the language simplification movements. To this end, the 1st grade, 2nd grade and 3rd grade Textbooks of the Secondary School Textbooks of 1938 will be examined in terms of language policy. |
| Keywords: | Language policy, Turkish Textbooks, New Language. |
| JEL: | I28 I29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:itepro:2404266&r=ara |
| By: | Khalid Abu-Ismail; Niranjan Sarang |
| Abstract: | The degree of choice households have over their consumption expenditure is critical in deciding their economic class. Applying our measure to Egyptian household budget surveys, we estimate the population size of the middle class in Egypt and assess their well-being in the period 1995-2011. Our findings show that if economic growth is pro-poor and inclusive, more people at the lower end of income distribution will graduate into the middle class category. The increase in poverty rates and decline in the size of the middle class since 2005 indicates that the growth process in Egypt was anti-poor and anti-middle class. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth, Equality and inequality, Measurement (Poverty) |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2015-023&r=ara |
| By: | Orman, Cüneyt; Bülent, Köksal |
| Abstract: | We investigate if and when the leading theories of debt maturity are useful in understanding the maturity choices of nonfinancial firms in a major developing economy, Turkey. Unlike most research, we use a dataset that provides financial information on not only large, publicly-traded firms but also small, privately-held firms across a wide variety of industries. Our strongest finding is that firms that have high leverage also have long maturity. Size, asset maturity, and credit quality are also important, although results depend on the type of firm group considered. The stability of the economic environment as measured by inflation and interest rate volatility also influences debt maturity decisions. Our findings are broadly consistent with the liquidity risk theory. The agency theory is also partially useful in understanding firms' maturity decisions, particularly for medium- and large-sized firms. The signaling theory is most useful when the sample consists of large, publicly-traded firms. We find little evidence that taxes matter for maturity decisions. Our findings also provide some evidence that borrower-lender relationships might influence debt maturity structures. |
| Keywords: | Debt maturity structure, nonfinancial firms, Turkey |
| JEL: | G3 G32 |
| Date: | 2015–06–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64860&r=ara |
| By: | Ahmet Naci ÇOKLAR (Necmettin Erbakan University); Erkan EF (Necmettin Erbakan University); Levent SAH (Anadolu University); Arif AKÇAY (Kastamonu University) |
| Abstract: | This research aims to determine the affecting factors on technostress levels of Turkish teachers. For this purpose, after giving a brief information about the technostress, the teachers are asked to give an answer to the question of “What are the factors that affect your technostress level in your profession and life?”. A qualitative method was used in order to determine the affecting factors on technostress levels of Turkish teachers. 64 teachers were participated the research. “Convenience sampling” method was used which is frequently preferred method in a qualitative research. While descriptive statics is used to analyze the demographic data of the participants, content analysis technique is used to analyze the qualitative data. As a result of the analysis process, 117 different expressions were summarized under 5 themes. Teachers stated the most important technostress factor as individual problems (43 expression) including the inability to use technology, lack of education, foreign language problem, etc. and technical problems (43 expression) including the needs of update, frequently crashing, software problems, etc. The other factors expressed by teachers are educational problems (21 expression), time problems (5 expression) and healty problems (5 expression). |
| Keywords: | Technostress, teachers, education, ICT |
| JEL: | I29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:itepro:2403619&r=ara |
| By: | Ali Unal (Necmettin Erbakan University Ahmet Kelesoglu Education Faculty); Musa Gursel (Mevlana University) |
| Abstract: | Teachers who are beginner in their duty sometimes imitate the behaviors of their teachers under some circumstances. For this reason, negative teacher behaviors from which the teacher candidates are affected can give a hint about their future behaviors. In this research, the aim was to determine the negative teacher behaviors from which the students having education in senior class of education faculty are being affected. In the research phenomology pattern (among the qualitative research patterns) was used. The research group consists of 142 students taking class management lesson in music, special education, science and Turkish sections. 103 of the students were female and 39 were male. Students mentioned negative behavior mostly from their class teacher (60) and secondly from their math teacher (19). By force of the lesson, students were asked to write the negative teacher behavior which most affected them during their education before university. The answers of students were analyzed by content analysis. As a result of the content analysis, 22 negative teacher behavior affecting teacher candidates were determined. These behaviors are classified under vocational insufficiency and violence categories. Violence category was also divided into three themes: physical, psychological and passive aggression. Teacher candidates stated that they were ashamed and affected more when they were exposed to teacher violence in front of other students. |
| Keywords: | teacher, teacher candidate, negative teacher behavior |
| JEL: | A20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:itepro:2404066&r=ara |
| By: | Akturk, Halit; Gocen, Hasan; Duran, Suleyman |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a generalized money (M2) multiplier formula to the literature for a monetary system with Reserve Option Mechanism (ROM). Various features of the proposed multiplier are then explored using monthly Turkish data during the decade 2005 to 2015. We report a step increase in the magnitude and a slight upward adjustment in the long-run trend of the multiplier with the adoption of ROM. We provide evidence for substantial change in the seasonal pattern of the multiplier, cash ratio, required and excess reserves under ROM. We show that money (M2) multiplier is less volatile in a monetary system with ROM and discuss the subsequent stabilizing influence of more predictable multiplier on the foreign exchange market. |
| Keywords: | Money multiplier, macroprudential policy, reserve option mechanism, reserve requirements, financial stability |
| JEL: | E51 E52 E58 F31 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64803&r=ara |
| By: | Atila YILDIRIM (Necmettin Erbakan Üniversity Ahmet Kele); Ali ÜNAL (Necmettin Erbakan Üniversity Ahmet Kele); Abdullah SÜRÜCÜ (Necmettin Erbakan Üniversity Ahmet Kele) |
| Abstract: | Teacher is the most important factor in making education/instruction activities to reach their purpose and having expected changes in students’ behaviors. Teacher behaviors are seen to be important in the definitions of effective teachers who try to make their students effectively and efficiently make their students reach the goals. Similar effective teacher behaviors have been determined in many researches. The common point of these researches is that their self-confidence and success mainly depend on behaviors with respect to helping their students. When effective teacher behaviors are examined, behaviors of establishing warm and sincere relationships with the students and showing close interest in students mainly gain importance. The purpose of this research is to determine effective teacher behaviors based on the opinions of the teacher candidates. A teacher should know what effective teacher behaviors are and try to apply these behaviors in the best manner. It is supposed that research results will be useful in gaining teacher behaviors in teacher raising programs and making teachers at school to become aware in terms of effective teacher behaviors, and use these behaviors in using the learning-teaching process.The research is in the qualitative research model. The study group of the research consists of 132 teacher candidates who receive teaching training at Necmettin Erbakan University Ahmet Kele |
| Keywords: | : Effective teacher behavior, teacher candidate, classroom management |
| JEL: | A20 A20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:itepro:2404073&r=ara |
| By: | Musa Gursel (Mevlana University); Ali Ünal (Necmettin Erbakan University Ahmet Kelesoglu Education Faculty) |
| Abstract: | Teachers' lounge is the room where teachers spend nearly all their break times and working hours at school except for the course hours. In this lounge teachers rest, make preparations for lectures, review students' homework, assess papers and converse with their colleagues concerning personal or work-related topics. Teachers' lounge presents an environment where all teachers in the school gather and communicate. In terms of enhancing the social capital in schools, the role of a comfortable and safe teachers' lounge based on the principles of self-development and helping others, where scientific works on education are discussed, and students' problems are handled under the light of scientific problem, is significant. The things that happen in the teachers' lounge are considered important because they have the potential to affect primarily the social capital of the school, and accordingly the success of the school. The purpose of the present study is to determine how social media users perceive teachers' lounge. Data of the study were collected through document review method among qualitative research methods. The reviewed documents consists of the opinions or entries written under the topics of "teachers' lounge", "teachers' lounge conversations" and "teachers' lounge dialogs" in the social sharing site Eksi Sozluk (https://eksisozluk.com/). Collected data were subjected to contend analysis. By analyzing the data, a total of 23 codes concerning teachers' lounge were established. These codes were integrated under 6 themes. By analyzing the data, a total of 23 codes concerning teachers' lounge were established. These codes were integrated under 6 themes: market place, lounge, private spaces, socialization, Interpretation and Curiosity, Excitement. According to the entries made in the Eksi Sozluk social sharing site, in its current state teachers' lounge is far from having an effect that would increase the social capital of the school. Teachers use this room mostly for recreation and conversing with each other rather than using it for professional interaction. |
| Keywords: | Teachers' lounge, Eksi Sozluk, social capital |
| JEL: | A20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:itepro:2404122&r=ara |
| By: | Troug, Haytem Ahmed; Sbia, Rashid |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at providing empirical support to claims made by officials in oil-producing countries that investors in the New York stock Exchange market are involved in the disruption of oil production in some OPEC countries. The claims state that some investors in the NYSE are financing militias in those countries to close down oilfields and ports, and buy oil before this incident occurs. By doing so, they have access to information that no one else in the market has, and make profits from this information. Using a VAR model approach to detect this phenomenon, and being inspired by the asymmetric information theory, we fail to support those claims. We tried to put this theory under investigation by running test on three oil disruption incidents that occurred in 2013, and all of the results turned out to be insignificant. Nevertheless, this approach was able to detect a period which might involve asymmetric information in the NYSE. In addition, using a VAR model enabled us to measure the duration and magnitude of the effect of a shock in volumes of trade on oil prices in that market. |
| Keywords: | stock Exchange market,OPEC countries, NYSE, Asymmetric Information, Oil Market |
| JEL: | C50 C58 G02 G14 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64933&r=ara |
| By: | Troug, Haytem Ahmed; Sbia, Rashid |
| Abstract: | In our paper, we examined the relationship between non-performing loans, as a measure of stability, and concentration, as a measure of competition, in the Libyan banking sector. We used aggregate quarterly data for the 15 commercial banks in the country during the period 2002-2013. A broad set of tests were conducted to measure the relationship between the two variables, and alternative robustness tests were conducted to assure our core finding that less competition in the banking sector leads to a more resilient banking sector. Thus, our results offer empirical support against “competition–stability” theory and conform to the “competition–fragility” literature. We conclude by recommending the need to inspect in more detail (on a bank by bank level) the relationship between competition and fragility in developing countries in general and in Libya in particular. |
| Keywords: | Banking competition, Financial stability, developing countries, Oil exporting countries, Libya. |
| JEL: | C50 C58 G00 G21 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64932&r=ara |