The link between health condition costs and standard of living: A structural equation modelling

This study employs a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to explore the health related costs using the Standard of Livings (SoL) approach in Turkey, employing data from the cross sectional Household Budget Survey (HBS) over the period 2002-2013. The SEM allows us to investigate all these concerns simultaneously. A health condition index is created regarding questions related to the mental and physical limitations (disability) of people. The study extends the previous research by the following ways. First, a SEM framework is introduced, which accounts for the measurement error in both SoL and health-condition indices and it allows for the simultaneous estimation of the link between health condition costs and SoL using structural equations. The underlying theory of the SoL approach is that a household’s SoL is a function of needs and income and the additional costs of disability can be estimated by comparing the standard of livings of household with and without disabled members and controlling for other source of variation. The results show that disability has a significant and negative impact on SoL. Second, exploiting the health reform of 2008, a quasi-experiment approach using difference-in-difference (DID) regression within a SEM framework between the disabled and non-disabled households takes place. The disability related costs consist of the 23 per cent of the household income corresponding to 4,000 Turkish Liras (TL)

From good neighbor to model: Turkey's changing roles in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The recent Arab uprisings have forced many actors to reconsider their positions regarding Middle Eastern politics. Role theory provides a viable tool to explain changes in actors’ foreign policy behaviors, presuming that states’ foreign policies are shaped by the ruling elites’ foreign policy role conceptions. This article analyzes Turkish foreign policy roles with regard to the Middle East and North Africa before and since the Arab uprisings that began in December 2010. We argue that these uprisings caused Turkey to change its emphasis from roles built on soft power instruments to harder roles requiring material capabilities. We also discuss the implications of this change with reference to theories of international politics

The dynamics of job creation in Egypt and Turkey

Firm employment dynamics is at the core of the creative destruction process and it is important to have a clear picture of the gross and net job flows. This study is motivated by the ongoing interest of policy makers in the possible sources of job creation and destruction. The aim is to explore the dynamics of job creation, destruction and net job creation rates in Egypt and Turkey, including various firm characteristics, besides the firm size and age that have not been studied so far, such as the businessstate relations (SBRs), whether the firm has been accredited with an international qualification of quality assurance and control and whether one of the owners is female. The analysis relies on firmlevel data derived from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys. We implement weighted ordinary least squares (OLS). Since the main point of interest is the SBRs we apply an Instrumental Variables Approach and the Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) for robustness check and to deal with the endogeneity coming from the self-reported statements and the possible degree of reverse causality. The findings show constraints to finance and political instability are the main obstacles of SBRs in both countries, including also tax rates and constraints in electricity. The quality of SBRs is found to significantly contribute to job growth.

The Effect of Survivors’ Benefits on Poverty and Health Indicators of Women and Children in Widowed-Mother Households: A Turkish Case Study

Survivors' benefits are cash payments made by government to family members when a worker dies. His or her spouse and unmarried children are entitled to receive these cash benefits. The payments are intended to help ease the financial strain caused by the loss of the worker's income. Survivors can receive benefits if the deceased partner was employed and contributed to Social Security long enough to be considered insured. Although these benefits aim to help single-head households who are in financial difficulties due to the loss of an additional household income, the remaining parents have generally serious challenges to do work both at labor market and home such as childrearing and house chores. Widows across the world therefore share two common experiences: a loss of social status and reduced economic circumstances. Prior research suggests that widowhood is much more common experience among women than men. Moreover, it is more likely to cause financial difficulties for women than for men, and financial strain reducing well-being of women. Using Cross-Sectional Income and Living Conditions Survey of Turkey (2006-2012), the first aim of this paper is to empirically analyze the effect of survivors’ benefits on poverty indicators of widowed-mother households and secondly to investigate whether survivors’ benefits promote health status of women and children in these families

The Effects of the 2008 Health Reform on Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditures in Turkey

The Turkish health care system has been subject to significant and critical changes and reforms since 2003. One of the most important reforms has been implemented in 2008 where the Green Card holders are entitled to the same services, without any fee, as those with public health insurance, such as the Emekli Sandığı, BAĞKUR, SSK. This study initially examines the characteristics of health insurance schemes, determinants of holding one of the health insurance schemes (public, private, green card, no-insurance) in Turkey. It further analyses the effect of 2008 reform on out of pocket expenditures (OOPEs). The study will be the first in the related literature analysing the effect of this reform especially on the OOPEs of green card holders. The analysis relies on a detailed micro-data level survey, TUİK Household Budget Survey, over the period 2002-2011 and employs a difference-in-difference approach using a pseudo-panel based on propensity score matching. Initial results show that individuals who have public insurance are less inclined to face out-of-pocket health expenditures compared to those without health insurance and the Green Card holders. However, the difference of the OOPEs between the public health insurees and green card holders is reduced after the implementation of the 2008 reform

Empirical Application of Collective Household Labour Supply Model in Iraq

In this study we explore the determinants of the women’s labour supply and we attempt to identify the sharing rules for married couples. The analysis relies on data derived by the Iraqi Household Socio-Economic Survey (IHSES) in 2012-2013. The study considers the housework contributed by both spouses and we also include the disability status as a distribution factor. Moreover, we estimate the sharing rules accounting for female non-participation in the labour market. The household collective model is preferred over the unitary model as the results support that changes on wages, non-labour income, age, education, number of children and disability as a distribution factor affect the bargaining power and the share of spouses. The findings show that for a one per cent increase on female’s daily wage rate, her share on full income is increased by 1,250 Iraqi Dinar (ID) corresponding to $1.1, while is increased at 1,470 ID (1.25$) when the domestic labour is considered. Similarly, increases on the male’s wage increase her share by 600 ID (0.48$), while increases of 1 ID in the non-labour income increases female’s share by 0.42. The estimates show that the disabled women decrease the share by 1,135 ID (0.96$) more than the non-disabled ones reaching the 1,300 ID (1.1$) including the domestic labour supply. Therefore, considering disability as a distribution factor, besides the traditional factors of age, education and sex ratio, it can significantly influence the labour supply choices of the couples, their bargaining power and the intra-household resource allocation. Furthermore, the findings show that when the non-participation of the wife in the labour market is examined, her share and therefore bargaining power is lower than their married and earners counterparts

The impact of air pollution on health problems in Britain

This study explores the effects of air pollution on specific diseases and specifically skin conditions and allergy, chest and breathing and heart problems. The analysis is based on data derived by the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which is a panel dataset in the UK during the period 1991 to 2009. Moreover, this study explores the willingness to pay for improving the air quality in the UK using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). In particular, two air pollutants are examined; ground-level ozone (O3) and carbon monoxide (CO). Regarding the skin conditions and allergy health problems the annual monetary values for O3 range between £45-£65 per year for a drop of one unit, while the respective values for the CO range between £70-£87. The respective values for O3 and CO range between £173-£218 for chest and breathing health problems and £178-£216 and £189-£222 for heart problems

The Effect of Survivors’ Benefits on Poverty and Health Indicators of Women and Children in Widowed-Mother Households: A Turkish Case Study

Survivors' benefits are cash payments made by government to family members when a worker dies. His or her spouse and unmarried children are entitled to receive these cash benefits. The payments are intended to help ease the financial strain caused by the loss of the worker's income. Survivors can receive benefits if the deceased partner was employed and contributed to Social Security long enough to be considered insured. Although these benefits aim to help single-head households who are in financial difficulties due to the loss of an additional household income, the remaining parents have generally serious challenges to do work both at labor market and home such as childrearing and house chores. Widows across the world therefore share two common experiences: a loss of social status and reduced economic circumstances. Prior research suggests that widowhood is much more common experience among women than men. Moreover, it is more likely to cause financial difficulties for women than for men, and financial strain reducing well-being of women. Using Cross-Sectional Income and Living Conditions Survey of Turkey (2006-2012), the first aim of this paper is to empirically analyze the effect of survivors’ benefits on poverty indicators of widowed-mother households and secondly to investigate whether survivors’ benefits promote health status of women and children in these families

Who Pays More: Public, Private, Both or None? The Effects of Health Insurance Schemes and Health Reforms on Out-of-Pocket and Catastrophic Health Expenditures in Turkey

This study explores the determinants and characteristics of the out-of-pocket to capacity to pay and catastrophic health expenditures in Turkey using a detailed micro-level survey, the Household Budget Survey during the period 2002-2011. The results show that those who have public health insurance are less likely to face out-of-pocket to capacity to pay and catastrophic health expenditures, than those with private or without health insurance. In addition, the study explores the expansion of the health reform of 2003, where in 2008 the Green Card (Yeşil Kart) holders are entitled, without fee, to the same services as those with public health insurance such as Emekli Sandığı, BAĞ-KUR, SSK. The analysis employs a differences-in-differences approach using a pseudo-panel based on propensity score matching. The results support that the difference of pocket health expenditures between the public health insurers and green card holders has been reduced. Furthermore, those who are located in rural areas are compared with those residing in urban areas, as the health reform in 2008 included expansion and improvement on the emergency services and infrastructure in rural areas

The dynamics of job creation in Egypt and Turkey

Firm employment dynamics is at the core of the creative destruction process and it is important to have a clear picture of the gross and net job flows. This study is motivated by the ongoing interest of policy makers in the possible sources of job creation and destruction. The aim is to explore the dynamics of job creation, destruction and net job creation rates in Egypt and Turkey, including various firm characteristics, besides the firm size and age that have not been studied so far, such as the businessstate relations (SBRs), whether the firm has been accredited with an international qualification of quality assurance and control and whether one of the owners is female. The analysis relies on firmlevel data derived from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys. We implement weighted ordinary least squares (OLS). Since the main point of interest is the SBRs we apply an Instrumental Variables Approach and the Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) for robustness check and to deal with the endogeneity coming from the self-reported statements and the possible degree of reverse causality. The findings show constraints to finance and political instability are the main obstacles of SBRs in both countries, including also tax rates and constraints in electricity. The quality of SBRs is found to significantly contribute to job growth.