Gender Differences in the Impact of the Informal Economy on the Labor Market: Evidence From Middle Eastern Countries.

Although considerable discussion has been devoted to the macro determinants of labor market variables across genders, comparatively little attention has been given to the contribution of the informal economy to this market. This study was aimed at empirically investigating the impact of the size of the shadow or informal economy (IE) on labor market variables across genders in 12 Middle Eastern countries. The study used quarterly time series data on each country under investigation, covering 1991 to 2015. Phillips-Perron unit root tests were carried out to verify the stationarity of the examined economic series. An autoregressive distributed lag approach was adopted to conduct cointegration tests and estimate long-run regression coefficients and error correction terms. The results indicated that the IE served men and women differently across countries. Whereas this economy had a long-run positive relationship with men's employment rates in Bahrain, Iran, Qatar, and Turkey, this relationship existed among women only in Israel. IE activities matter in the employment of men and women in Middle Eastern countries. The sizes of IEs in the labor market are a significant factor that favors men's employment rather than that of women.

The role of financial systems in energy demand: A comparison of developed and developing countries.

This study investigates the role of the financial system in energy demand in the cases of developed and developing countries. Time-series analyses are carried out using the annual data period from 2000 to 2015. Results indicate that the financial system and financial markets are long-term catalysts for energy consumption in both groups under consideration. Results show that domestic credits by banks positively impact energy demand in developing countries, while this is money supply impacting positively on energy demand in the case of developed nations. The results of this study reveal important policy implications.

Dynamic effects of shadow economy and environmental pollution on the energy stock prices: empirical evidence from OECD countries.

This study investigates the dynamic effects of the shadow economy and environmental pollution on the energy stock prices in the case of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries via generalized methods of moments (GMM) and during the years from 2004 to 2014. Results suggest significant links between the volume of shadow economies, energy stock prices, and environmental pollution. Negative effects of carbon dioxide emissions on energy stock prices are found in this study. Furthermore, a U-shaped relationship is also found between the shadow economy and energy stock prices; that is the initial levels of the shadow economy the response of energy stock prices is negative; then, beyond a trough point, its response starts to be positive at the further stages of the level of shadow economies. Despite energy consumption raises energy stock prices, environmental pollution mitigates the value of energy stock prices.

The role of shadow economies in ecological footprint quality: empirical evidence from Turkey.

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the role of shadow economies in the levels of ecological footprint for the case of Turkey. Annual data set ranging from 1961 to 2014 was used with this respect. The results of this study verify the long-term and positively elastic impact of shadow economic activities on the level of ecological footprint in Turkey; that is, 1 % change in shadow economic activities results in a 1.008% change in ecological footprint in the same direction. This study, therefore, reaches a significant conclusion that in Turkey, shadow economies are long-term and essential drivers of environmental pollution.

Volatility of the alternative energy input prices and spillover effects: a VAR [MA]-MGARCH in BEKK approach for the Turkish economy.

The interaction among the energy unit prices, which are considered as the most effective factor on the realization of economic growth, and the distribution of this interaction throughout the manufacturing process have become popular subjects in research recently. Especially, the scarcity of energy resources and the problems encountered in their supply make it necessary to utilize alternative energy resources. Thus, the realization of production using different energy inputs simultaneously results in an interaction between the factors and the spillover effect. Thus, in the study, alternative vector autoregressive M-GARCH (VAR [-MA] -MGARH) models would be predicted based on the spillover effect between the conditional variance and alternative energy input prices.

The moderating role of oil price changes in the effects of service trade and tourism on growth: the case of Turkey.

The aim of this study is to examine the role of oil price changes in the effects of services trade and tourism on real income growth in Turkey. Time series analysis using the 1960-2017 annual period has been adapted with this respect. Results confirm the long-term impacts of tourism and services trade sectors on real income growth in Turkey. Tourism and trade (both services and manufacturing) exert positively significant effects on the long-term performance of macroeconomic activity as measured by gross domestic product. Oil prices negatively impact on real income growth of Turkey. It is also found that oil prices negatively moderate the effects of foreign trade, services trade, and tourism on real income growth in Turkey. This finding reveals that significant effects of foreign trade, services trade, and tourism on real income are negatively influenced from oil price changes.

Testing the role of tourism development in ecological footprint quality: evidence from top 10 tourist destinations.

The aim of this study is to search the role of tourism development in the environmental quality for the major tourist destination countries. Ecological footprint has been selected as a proxy of environmental quality with this respect while top 10 tourist countries have been selected as samples of the study. Panel estimation results of this study show that the tourism-induced environmental Kuznets curve has been confirmed for these tourist countries which has an inverted U-shape. Tourism development in the selected countries exerts negatively significant effects on the levels of ecological footprints. Thus, this study concludes that tourism development in top tourist countries exert improving effect on the levels of environmental quality.

Interactions between oil prices and financial sectors' performances: empirical evidence from Amman Stock Exchange.

The present study searches the effects of international oil prices on the performance of financial sector firms in the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). Using the daily data which range from July 3, 2006 to April 12, 2018, we found that financial performance of the ASE firms is downturn during this data period and oil prices do not impact on these performances. It is found that downward movement of financial performances in the ASE is totally independent of the movements in international oil prices.

Testing the role of external debt in environmental degradation: empirical evidence from Turkey.

This study investigates the role of external debt stock in Turkey, which has suffered from heavy (external and domestic) debt stock for many years. Annual data from 1960 to 2013 was analyzed using time series analysis in order to study this. The results confirm the validity of the conventional environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the case of Turkey. However, this study also found that Turkey's external debt stock did not influence the Turkish economy's long-term EKC behavior. Fortunately, the results suggest that there are important interactions among external debt stock, CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and real income; that is, changes in external debt volume precede changes in these aggregates' volumes.

Testing the role of fiscal policy in the environmental degradation: the case of Turkey.

This study introduces a new research topic that investigates the relationship between fiscal development and carbon emissions in Turkey through testing Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. Annual data covering the period, 1960-2013, has been used and in addition to gross domestic product and energy consumption, fiscal policy variables have been regressed on the level of carbon emissions in Turkey. Results reveal that fiscal policies and carbon emissions are in long-term equilibrium relationship in Turkey; carbon dioxide emission level converges towards long-term paths as contributed by fiscal policy. The effects of fiscal aggregates on the level of carbon dioxide emissions are negatively significant revealing that growth in fiscal aggregates leads to declines on the levels of carbon emissions. This proves that as far as environmental effects are concerned, fiscal policies regarding energy sector is successful in Turkey. Thus, the major finding of this study confirmed the validity of the fiscal policy-induced EKC hypothesis in the case of Turkey.

Is a Clean Development Mechanism project economically justified? Case study of an International Carbon Sequestration Project in Iran.

The present study evaluates a carbon sequestration project for the three plant species in arid and semiarid regions of Iran. Results show that Haloxylon performed appropriately in the carbon sequestration process during the 6 years of the International Carbon Sequestration Project (ICSP). In addition to a high degree of carbon dioxide sequestration, Haloxylon shows high compatibility with severe environmental conditions and low maintenance costs. Financial and economic analysis demonstrated that the ICSP was justified from an economic perspective. The financial assessment showed that net present value (NPV) (US$1,098,022.70), internal rate of return (IRR) (21.53%), and payback period (6 years) were in an acceptable range. The results of the economic analysis suggested an NPV of US$4,407,805.15 and an IRR of 50.63%. Therefore, results of this study suggest that there are sufficient incentives for investors to participate in such kind of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.

Gearing service quality into public and private hospitals in small islands: empirical evidence from Cyprus.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to develop and compare some determinants of service quality in both the public and private hospitals of Northern Cyprus. There is considerable lack of literature with respect to service quality in public and private hospitals. DESIGN/METHOD/APPROACH: Randomly, 454 respondents, who have recently benefited from hospital services in Famagusta, were selected to answer a modified version of the SERVQUAL Instrument. The instrument contained both service expectations and perceptions questions. FINDINGS: This study identifies six factors regarding the service quality as perceived in both public and private Northern Cyprus hospitals. These are: empathy, giving priority to the inpatients needs, relationships between staff and patients, professionalism of staff, food and the physical environment. Research results revealed that the various expectations of inpatients have not been met in either the public or the private hospitals RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS/LIMITATIONS: At the micro level, the lack of management commitment to service quality in both hospital settings leads doctors and nurses to expend less effort increasing or improving inpatient satisfaction. Hospital managers should also satisfy their employees, since job satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, hospital administrations need to gather systematic feedback from their inpatients, establish visible and transparent complaint procedures so that inpatients' complaints can be addressed effectively and efficiently. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The hospitals need to organize training sessions based on the critical importance of service quality and the crucial role of inpatient satisfaction in the health care industry. Future studies should include the remaining regions in Cyprus in order to increase research findings' generalizability. Additionally, including other dimensions such as hospital processes and discharge management and co-ordination may provide further insights into understanding inpatients' perceptions and intentions.