Alisher Akhmedjonov

New evidence of regional income divergence in post-reform Russia

This article investigates regional income convergence in Russia during 2000–2008. We test the hypothesis in which income divergence across regions of the country should give place to income convergence as the country moves toward free market economy with strong market institutions. The study contributes to the existing literature by using the exponential smooth autoregressive Augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) unit root test in a panel setup, a novel econometric technique, which encompasses cross sectional dependence. Results show strong evidence of on-going regional income divergence in post-reform period.

Does it pay to work in the public sector in Turkey

This article examines wage gap between the public and private sectors in Turkey. Relying on microdata from Turkeys Household Budget Survey (HBS) for the year 2009, we estimate separate earnings functions for public and private sectors by gender with appropriate correction for selectivity bias. The results suggest that while the observed pay advantage of public male employees can be explained entirely by differences in their observed characteristics, for female employees these differences only partly explain the observed public–private pay differential. Decomposition of male–female wage differentials by sector of work suggests that women are facing discrimination in both sectors.

Alcohol consumption and its impact on the risk of high blood pressure in Russia

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS This study aims to examine the causal effect of alcohol consumption on the risk of high blood pressure in Russia. DESIGN AND METHODS Using data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, we estimated the influence of alcohol consumption on high blood pressure, controlling for social and other factors related to alcohol use. To address the issue of causality, we instrumented alcohol consumption by the number of frequent alcohol drinkers in the household. RESULTS We found that frequent consumption of vodka and beer has an adverse impact on health. In particular, frequent vodka consumption increases the likelihood of high blood pressure by 2.88% while frequent beer consumption increases it by 2.06%. Controlling for the endogeneity of frequent alcohol consumption using the instrumental variable method produces an even larger effect for frequent vodka consumption, with a marginal effect of 7.23%. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Prevention policies as well as government programs aimed at treating alcohol-related health outcomes should take into consideration the significant adverse effect of alcohol consumption on high blood pressure. It is also recommended that policy interventions aimed to address alcohol addiction issues in Russia explicitly differentiate between vodka and beer drinkers.

Do Higher Levels of Education Raise Earnings in Post-Reform Russia?

In this study, using the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Surveys data set, we investigate whether higher education has any effect on wages in post-reform Russia. In doing so, we test the hypothesis of Brainerd (1998) that returns should further increase in the future as Russia moves from government dominance toward a market democracy. The findings are based on a simple ordinary least squares model and instrumental variable estimation, exploiting institutional changes in the educational system. They suggest that returns grew significantly in 2000-2002. The results are in line with Brainerds conjecture on the future evolution of returns to human capital in Russia.

Trade barriers and market integration in textile sector: evidence from post-reform Russia

This paper is about tests for trade barriers and market integration in Russian textile sector. The study contributes to the existing literature on internal market integration, examining the extent of such integration in textile sector in the transitional economy of Russia. We find fairly strong evidence of market integration in textile sector for most regions over 2002–2009. Our findings suggest that the internal market in Russia is quite efficient, and, hence, anticipated WTO accession can benefit the consumers of textile products.

If bank capital matters, then how? The effect of bank capital on profitability of Turkish banks during the recent financial crisis

The goal of this study is to examine if higher bank capital resulted in higher profitability of Turkish banks before and during the recent (2008–2009) financial crisis. Using the ordinary least squares, fixed effects and generalized method of moment estimator techniques, we find that higher bank capital had positive effects on bank profitability at all times, and the effect was more pronounced during the financial crisis.

Russia’s regions: governance and Well-being, 2000-2008

This paper assesses the impact of the quality of governance on economic performance in Russia’s 83 regions (Oblasts, Republics, Krais and Okrugs) from 2000 to 2008, a period of rapid economic advancement. Defining governance broadly as how authority is exercised, and using as a proxy a measure of the investment risk by region, this paper contributes to the literature on identifying the economic impact of governance. Our results find a significant association between governance in Russia’s diverse regions and economic well-being, that is, we find a performance gap in government practices. Specifically, our study shows that the main components of effective governance are the ability of the government to run effective public health programs aimed at decreasing the overall mortality rate among the working-age population, to create fair labor market conditions for all individuals who are still capable of working, and to improve the investment climate in the region leading to a higher level of investment in fixed assets. Our results implicitly suggest that effective governance comprises the tangible aspects of policymaking such as the adoption of effective public health, investment and labor policies and most importantly, for the regions of Russian Federation, although effective governance can be also an artifact of unobserved and unmeasurable managerial attributes of the local government to implement federal and region level laws and regulations

Healthcare financing: how does Turkey compare?

Abstract The authors provide an overview of Turkeys healthcare financing. After comparing financing data on Turkey and other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries, they examine Turkeys performance on a wide range of healthcare input and outcome indicators using descriptive data drawn from the World Health Organization, World Bank, OECD, and Turkish Statistical Institute. The data analysis shows that Turkey ranks low by a number of key healthcare indicators across the OECD countries. Empirical analysis suggests that although many factors are associated with improvements in healthcare outcomes, a significant part of changes in life expectancy at birth are associated with higher spending on healthcare.

Restoring Forgotten Ties: Recent Trends and Prospects of Turkey's Trade with Syria, Lebanon and Jordan

Turkeys economic ties with neighboring Arab countries have flourished in the past few years. A recently stated pledge to create a regional trade alliance with Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan is likely to trigger a further expansion of economic integration. This paper starts by reviewing trends in Turkeys bilateral trade relations with Syria, Lebanon and Jordan since 2000. Next, it estimates a formal gravity model aiming to project Turkeys trade potential with its neighbors and compare them with the actual flows in 2000–10. It is demonstrated that while Turkey fully realized its bilateral trade potential vis-à-vis Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, actual bilateral trade of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan with Turkey is significantly below the estimated potential.

Education, Training and Innovation in Transition Economies: Is there a Link?

The aim of this paper is to establish the effect of on-the-job-training and university education on the firm’s innovation decision in transition economies of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. The authors use the 2002 and 2005 waves of the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Surveys. Their findings, based on a mixed discrete-continuous model with endogenous variables in the firm’s innovation equation, suggest that further investments in education will not lead to necessary improvements in the firm’s demonstrated ability to innovate. This is in contrast to on-the-job-training, which they show increases a firm’s ability to innovate in countries with transition economies.