Informality, Inequality, and Feminization of Labor

Using two novel datasets of the size of the informal economy and income inequality, this study provides evidence on the nexus of informality and inequality with particular attention to the feminization of labor, a phenomenon closely related to labor market informalization. Using annual cross-country panel data from 125 countries for 1963-2016, the study reveals a relationship between the size of the informal sector and income inequality, which is more likely to be negative in richer countries and positive in poor ones. It also shows that, while higher women’s labor force participation is associated with lower income inequality, this negative correlation is cancelled by the presence of an informal sector

Financialization and Militarization: An Empirical Investigation

Based on Arrighi (1994), we empirically investigate whether financialization and militarization are mutually reinforcing phenomena in the US during the post-WW II period. Military spending during the 1950s and 1960s in the US, along with other external stimuli, such as a rising sales effort and expansion in finance, insurance, and real estate, counteracted the stagnation of the monopolistic stage of capitalism. Monopoly capital was transformed into finance monopoly capital as the intensity of financial capital increased during the late 1970s in response to stagnation. Considering alternative financialization variables commonly used in the literature and the profit rate in the financial sector, and using several parametric and non-parametric methods, we found a significant relationship between financialization and militarization in the US for 1949-2019. The findings show that the decline in the profit rates lead to a decline in military expenditure. The overall results suggest that the rise in financialization is parallel to the decline in the profit rates, leading to larger military expenditure in total, but with relatively smaller share in GDP

A data mining approach for desire and intention to participate in virtual communities

The purpose of this study is to investigate performances of some of the data mining approaches while understanding desire and intention to participate in virtual communities and its antecedents. A research model has been developed following the literature review and the model was tested afterwards. In research part of the study, some of the data mining approaches as JRip, Part, OneR Method, Multilayer Perceptron (Neural Networks), Bayesian Networks have been used. Based on the analysis conducted it has been found out that Multilayer Neural Network had the best correct classification rate and lowest RMSE

Seismic Behavior of Welded Precast Panel Connections

The behavior of connection between precast panels is important as it controls the failure mode of the shear wall. Therefore, it is aimed to test the behavior of different type of precast panel connections in this study. One monolithic reference model and two precast panel models having different horizontal connection details were produced. The behavior of connections was tested under reversed-cyclic lateral loads. It was concluded that welded connections can be designed in high and normal ductility levels

Financial Development and Female Labor Income Share: Evidence from Global Data

This paper investigates the association between the dimensions of financial development and female labor income share for 160 countries for 1991-2019. The findings show that financial development is positively associated with women’s income in high-income countries but not in low-income countries. This suggests that financial development in poor countries is not sufficiently inclusive enough to create economic opportunities for women

The Effect of Military Expenditures on the Profit Rates in Turkey

This paper analyses the effects of military expenditure on the rate of profits in Turkey during the period of 1950–2008 by employing a Markov-switching autoregression model within a Marxist framework for the first time. Findings show that the effect of military expenditure on profit rates is nonlinear—negative during turbulent years and positive in more tranquil years. The negative effects are larger than positive effects, but the probability of positive effects prevailing is larger

Do Military Expenditures Boost Profit Rates?

Understanding the effect of military expenditures on profit rates can provide important insights on the use of government spending. We utilize the panel dynamic ordinary least square method to examine that relationship for 32 major countries from the period of 1963-2008. We find that while military expenditures increase profit rates in arm-exporting countries, the opposite occurs in the case of arms-importing countries

Why Don’t Highly Skilled Women Want to Return? Turkey’s Brain Drain from a Gender Perspective

This study examines the gender dimension of the brain drain in Turkey to argue that gender inequality in sending countries can be a push factor for women. Considering how the political, social and cultural atmosphere damages gender equality in Turkey due to a shift toward a conservative, authoritarian regime over the last decade, the paper uses an online survey to analyze the gender gap in the return intentions of Turkish professionals and students living abroad. The findings clearly reveal a gender gap in return intentions regardless of other main factors such as age, study field/occupation or marital status. The study also highlights the significant correlation between the gender gap in migration decisions and gender inequality in Turkey’s labor market

Fundamental open questions on engineering of "super" hydrogen sorption in graphite nanofibers: relevance for clean energy applications

Herein, some fundamental open questions on engineering of “super” hydrogen sorption (storage) in carbonaceous nanomaterials are considered, namely: 1) on thermodynamic stability and related characteristics of some hydrogenated graphene layers nanostructures: relevance to the hydrogen storage problem; 2) determination of thermodynamic characteristics of graphene hydrides; 3) a treatment and interpretation of some recent STM, STS, HREELS/LEED, PES, ARPS and Raman spectroscopy data on hydrogensorbtion with epitaxial graphenes; 4) on the physics of intercalation of hydrogen into surface graphene-like nanoblisters in pyrolytic graphite and epitaxial graphenes; 5) on the physics of the elastic and plastic deformation of graphene walls in hydrogenated graphite nanofibers; 6) on the physics of engineering of “super” hydrogen sorption (storage) in carbonaceous nanomaterials, in the light of analysis of the Rodriguez-Baker extraordinary data and some others. These fundamental open questions may be solved within several years