A cost analysis of a minimum pension guarantee for the individual pension system in Turkey

The returns from individual accounts in pension schemes are subject to fluctuations in capital markets. This increases income uncertainty for the beneficiary and exposes individuals to the risk of fluctuations in the economy in general, and of the stock market in particular. This fact has recently gotten considerable attention from policymakers. A minimum pension guarantee is a way to avoid this pitfall by providing a minimum annuity regardless of the actual investment performance of individual accounts. In this study, we present a cost analysis of a minimum benefit guarantee mechanism for the Individual Pension System in Turkey, a privately managed defined contribution scheme which was introduced in 2003 as a complement to the traditional pay-as-you-go system. We examine the cost estimates and the probability of guaranteed payoffs under various economic and demographic assumptions

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

Growth, Blood Parameters, Immune Response and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum, 1792) Fed Diets Supplemented with Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis)

In a feeding experiment for 75 days, the effects of fumitory (Fumaria officinalis) extract on growth, haematology, immune response and antioxidant enzyme activities in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were evaluated. The aqueous methanolic extract of the plant was mixed with feeds at three different levels, 0.1% (FO1), 0.2% (FO2) and 0.3% (FO3), and feed with no plant extract donated as the control. All four groups (mean initial weight: 13.02 ± 0.02 g) were fed with the prepared diets twice daily ad libitum in a triplicate experiment. Blood and liver samples were taken from the fish on 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days. Also, overall growth parameters were determined based on body weight data recorded from all fish before and at the end of feeding trial. Results indicated that there were variations in nonspecific immune parameters (lysozyme, myeloperoxidase and oxidative radical production), but supplementation of the plant extract did not affect the immune response of the fish significantly. On the other hand, there was a general increase in the antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) evaluated in this study. Furthermore, possibly the most remarkable finding of the study is that the growth performance in the FO3 group was roughly 30% higher than that of the control group. Considering all findings in the present study, we conclude that 0.3% supplementation of fumitory extract would be beneficial for rainbow trout farming with respect to elevated growth and antioxidant status