Proceedings of the Conference on Human and Economic Resources

The purpose of this paper is to examine the returns to individually acquired education in Turkey. In contrast to the traditional neo-classical growth theory models, technological progress is embedded within the new endogenous growth models emphasising the endogenous determination of growth process. Thus, human capital stock is incorporated as an endogenous determinant of growth rate into the model that is highly associating the human capital accumulation with the innovative capacity and productivity. With the development of human capital theory, the educational level of the population as one of the key determinants in economic growth, is considered to be affected by the returns to education. The key relationship for the estimation of returns to education was derived by Mincer (Mincer, 1974). Since then, the topic has become centre of focus, and a large number of studies have estimated returns to education. One of the most comprehensive surveys by Psacharopoulos covers the cross – country returns to education estimations for 60 countries, reveals that the developing countries possessed the highest return to an additional year of schooling (1994). Recent country specific studies, on the other hand, while providing evidence on the decreasing returns to education in Norway (Haegeland et. al. 1999), and Austria ( ), empirical findings for China (Heckman & Li, 2003), and Italy (Brunello et. al., 2000) suggest increasing returns to education. Furthermore, returns to education estimations reveal heterogenous results varying accordingly with the degree programmes and gender in Britain (Sloane & O’Leary, 2004), and West Germany (Lauer & Steiner, 2000). Despite the huge literature on the estimation of returns to education in terms of both cross – country and country specific analysis, studies concerning Turkish case remain limited (Tansel, 1994, 1999). This paper aims to make an update contribution to the literature in Turkey. Role of the educational level (primary, secondary, and higher education) in explaining earnings dispersion is analysed by estimating standard Mincerian equation, and using a national level household budget survey data. Estimating earnings equations for 1994 and 2003, preliminary findings demonstrate that returns to education have been instable and changing across the different sectors of the economy. Even though the education has been an important determinant of wage dispersion in Turkey, the findings reveal substantial heterogeneity in returns to different educational levels.returns to education, turkey, developing countries

AWARENESS AND PERCEPTION OF FOOD LABELS: RESULTS OF AN EYE TRACKING EXPERIMENT IN DOKUZ EYLÜL UNIVERSITY

Avrupa Birliği, 2008-2011 yılları arasında, 27 Avrupa ülkesi ve Türkiye'de, Food\r\nLabelling to Advance Better Education for Life (FLABEL) isimli bir 7. Çerçeve Programı\r\nprojesi desteklemektedir. Bu projenin 2. İş paketi tüketiciler tarafından gıda etiketleri\r\nüzerindeki bilgilerin algılanması ve değerlendirilmesini kapsamaktadır. Bu iş paketi için\r\nTürkiye'de Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi İşletme Fakültesi'nde gerçekleştirilen çalışmada,\r\nöğrencilere daha önce gördükleri ya da görmedikleri ancak farklı Avrupa ülkelerinde\r\nsıklıkla kullanılan gıda etiketleri gösterilmiştir. Çalışmada deney ve anket yöntemlerinden\r\nyararlanmıştır. Deneysel çalışmanın verilerinin toplanması ve kaydedilmesi için göz\r\nhareketlerini izlemede uzmanlaşmış bir cihaz (eye-tracker) ve ilgili bilgisayar programları\r\nkullanılmıştır. Türkiye'de yapılan bu çalışmadan beklenen sonuç tüketicilerin gıda\r\netiketlerindeki besin değerlerini algılama ve değerlendirme konusunda yeterli bilgi ve\r\ndeneyime sahip olmadıkları yönündedir. Gıda etiketleri ve sağlıklı beslenme konusunda\r\nözellikle göz hareketleri izleme metodu kullanılarak yapılmış herhangi bir çalışmaya\r\nrastlanmamıştır. Bu açıdan bu çalışmanın literatüre önemli bir katkı sağlayacağı\r\ndüşünülmektedir.\r\n\r\nEuropean Union is funding a 7th Framework Program Project named Food\r\nLabeling to Advance Better Education for Life (FLABEL) in 27 European countries and\r\nTurkey for the years 2008-2011. The second work package of this project entails consumer\r\nperception and evaluation of information on food labels. For this work package, an\r\nexperiment was pursued in Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Business, Turkey. The\r\nrespondents were shown food labels that they have seen before or have never seen before\r\nwhich are frequently used in different European countries. The study uses experiment and\r\nquestionnaire methods. For the collection and storage of experimental work, an eye-tracker\r\ndevice connected to a special computer and relevant computer programs were used. The\r\nresults of the study in Turkey demonstrate that respondents do not have sufficient\r\ninformation and experience in the perception and evaluation of nutrition values on food\r\nlabels. There is no previous study on food labels and healthy nutrition in Turkey using eyetracking\r\ndevices. This study is a first attempt in applying the eye tracking experiment to\r\nexplore consumers' choice for healthy food

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND LOCAL CULTURE: A TALE OF TWO NEIGHBOURING TURKISH PROVINCES

The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast two neighbouring provinces, Aydın and Denizli which are located in the western part of Turkey in terms of regional development criteria by utilizing a theoratical framework developed by authors. More specifically, the relationship between provincial economic development and socio-cultural factors and Networks are searched. After conducting a 36 item survey among 118 businessmen in these provincies, it can be stated that, not only economic factors but also cultural values, networks and organizations (as it is in institutional theory) seem to explain success or failure of regions

Student Satisfaction in Higher Education: A Turkish Case

The aim of this paper is to determine the level and the factors for university students’ satisfaction with the institutions they are attending. Firstly, the concept of satisfaction will be defi ned. Secondly, a conceptual framework to demonstrate the relationship between the factors which lie behind university student satisfaction will be presented. Thirdly, the results and implications of a survey with which the authors tried to test the presupposed relationships within the boundaries of the conceptual framework will be given and discussed. The limitations of the research are also given. The results of the research show that, at least for some Turkish university students, the quality of education, instructors, textbooks and being female and informed ...