Oya Pinar Ardic

THE ECONOMICS OF THE UNCOVERED INTEREST PARITY CONDITION FOR EMERGING MARKETS

Financial account liberalizations since the second half of the 1980s paved the way for the burgeoning literature that investigates foreign exchange market efficiency in emerging markets (EMs) via testing for the uncovered interest parity (UIP) condition. This paper is the first to provide a broad and critical survey on this recent literature. Specifically, we attempt to answer the following questions. First, are the EMs different from the developed economies in the context of the UIP condition? Second, to what extent can these differences contribute to the debate on the UIP literature? Third, what are the empirical challenges specific to the EMs in testing for the UIP condition?

The dynamics of a newly floating exchange rate: the Turkish case

In recent years, many emerging market economies have switched or are in the process of switching to a floating exchange rate regime. Most of these economies have a history of high inflation and a high level of foreign currency denominated debt. Therefore, the stability of the exchange rate and the dynamics of its volatility are more crucial than before. This paper analyses the dynamics of exchange rate in Turkey in the aftermath of recent float in February 2001. The Turkish experience is a particularly important one, and provides valuable lessons for other countries as the Central Bank is trying to simultaneously contain the volatility of exchange rate and pursue an implicit inflation targeting policy. The reported findings indicate that the Central Bank policies, accompanied with favourable external factors, were effective in taming the volatility of the exchange rate in a relatively short period of time. However, there is a significant real appreciation of the currency during the same period. Given the high level of public debt and real interest rates, the current state of the economy is very susceptible to any adverse shocks.

Hospital Choice: Survey Evidence from Istanbul

Abstract This study analyzes patient characteristics that affect the choice between public and private healthcare providers in Istanbul. In addition to socioeconomic variables often considered, this study focuses on another factor that might determine the ease of access to hospital services in developing countries: the availability of social networks. The analysis is based on data from a household survey conducted in Istanbul. The econometric results provide some evidence that potential social ties play an important role in choosing public healthcare centers over private ones for minor health problems. This finding indicates that households with higher‐level social networks might be using them in easing access to public facilities.

Network effects in credit market access: Evidence from Istanbul

Many households in developing countries often have difficulty in smoothing consumption through formal credit channels. In turn, many rely on social (informal) networks. While this topic has been explored extensively in the literature on rural areas, the urban scene remains largely uninvestigated. This paper analyzes data from an exclusively-designed survey implemented in Istanbul, Turkey, and shows that households utilize both money transfers from social (informal) networks, and credit from formal institutions when they are experiencing cash shortages. Additionally, it is observed that some households utilize their social networks to facilitate easy and/or favorable access to formal credit, which has inevitable consequences for the overall efficiency and equity of access to financial services.