Price Convergence and Globalization: Evidence from Selected Countries

MENA countries have been confronted with major social, economic and political changes during the last two decades. During this period some emerging countries and transition economies also experienced similar transformation at varying degrees. The transformation of the economic system has affected not only relative domestic prices but also the gap between domestic and international price levels. The paper focuses on how deviation of domestic prices from international market prices is affected by openness in the selected countries. The difference between domestic and international price level is calculated by employing purchasing power parity (PPP). The factors that may have an effect on domestic-foreign price differences other than openness also are considered as control variables of the empirical analyses

Market Potential and Regional Disparities in Turkey

Regional disparity is one of the important characteristics of Turkish economy. The paper focuses on the explanatory power of market potential on the regional differences in Turkey. Regional divergences in wages and employment are used as the proxies for regional differences. Empirical results reveal that, under various specifications, variation in market potential is an important determinant of regional differences.

The Deindustrialization of Istanbul

Istanbul and Adana are among the oldest and important industrial zones of Turkey. However, the shares of these two regions in the Turkish manufacturing sector substantially decreased after the year 1980. Initially, Adana was a center for the textile industry and the textile was the engine of the Turkish manufacturing sector. During 1980’s and 1990’s, textile industry gradually lost its dominance. Therefore, the change in the share of Adana can be explained by this phenomenon. On the other hand, manufacturing activities in Istanbul are highly diversified. The basic factor behind the decrease in the share of manufacturing sector of Istanbul is the deindustrialization policy implemented in this city during the last several decades. As a result of this policy some of the plants moved to neighborhoods of Istanbul. At the same time, constructions of new large scale plants were not allowed. In spite of the implementation of the deindustrialization policy, Istanbul still have largest share in the Turkish manufacturing sector. Considering the geographical proximity, in addition to direct effects on Istanbul, it is possible to expect that these policies may indirectly affect neighborhood regions. Employing the spatial statistical techniques, we analyze the growth of the manufacturing in Istanbul and its neighborhoods. The paper also focuses on the effects of the deindustrialization policy on the productivity and the firm size in Istanbul