JOURNAL OF LIFE ECONOMICS

Çin’in Afrika’da özel ekonomik bölgeler kurma tecrübesinden Türkiye ne öğrenebilir?

Nurullah Kahvecioğlu — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0300

African countries, which have been under the interest and hegemony of Western countries for many years, have begun to evolve into a new era with China's Belt and Road Initiative in the last quarter century. It is seen that China has deepened its cooperation with African countries, especially those that have financial difficulties and lack infrastructure, but have natural resource wealth. While there are positive views on this relationship, there are also criticisms that gains are achieved with the policy of indebting countries that they cannot pay with luxurious infrastructure projects.

Turkiye's relationship with African countries has been diversifying with its long-standing foreign trade, infrastructure and housing construction projects spread across the continent, and energy investments. In parallel with this, Turkey is increasing its soft power on the continent with projects such as increasing education agreements, NGO collaborations, and TIKA aid.

This article focuses on what lessons can be learned for Turkish manufacturing industry investors who want to expand their cooperation with African countries through the example of China's establishment of 'Special Economic Production Zones', which it first started in its own country, then moved to many countries, and finally concentrated in Africa.

In this study, face-to-face interviews with continental experts, country reports and country statistics, as well as World Bank studies were used as methods. In addition, datas from the Chinese statistical office and the Ministry of Commerce were used regarding the special production zones in the continent.

As a result of the study, it was concluded that Africa could be one of the solutions for Turkiye's increasing food needs and new investments in low and medium technology sectors. With the expansion of construction and trade activities in the continent, it was concluded that in addition to all North African countries in the food, textile, construction materials and main metal industry sectors, countries such as Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Republic of South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya from Sub-Saharan Africa are centers of attraction for Turkish investors.

The originality of the study is that it includes analyses that can be used on a state and private company basis in Turkiye's foreign investment and sector planning, covering all African countries.

Breaking the cycle: exploring the bidirectional link between loneliness and unemployment

Haydar Baki Doğan — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0300

This systematic literature review explored the bidirectional relation between loneliness and unemployment through a systematic analysis of job loss's economic, social, and psychological impacts. Through the synthesis of evidence from existing literature, the study demonstrates the effects of unemployment. It enhances social isolation and contributes to mental health issues like suicidal ideation, anxiety, and depression within the population. Moreover, unemployment often causes disruptions in existing routines, reducing a sense of meaning and leading to feelings of insufficiency. These disruptions can have an influence beyond the person, affecting the family and wider social circles, exacerbating the experience of loneliness.

The study also identified a vicious cycle where unemployment is a major predictor of loneliness and the negative impacts of job loss/unemployment on the victim’s self-esteem and social networks. The cycle implies that interventions must address both unemployment and its psychological consequences in a simultaneous manner in order to break the vicious circle. Furthermore, the promotion of social involvement and the facilitation of access to mental health services can significantly mitigate these negative outcomes. The findings highlight the benefits of developing and implementing tailored methodologies seeking to address the adverse effects of unemployment on the social well-being of individuals and to enhance their overall health.

The effects of industrialization, democracy, natural resource rents and globalization on income inequality in Türkiye: Evidence from the Fourier approach

Özge Kozal, Burhan Durgun — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0300

Growing income inequality is one of the fundamental problems of the 21st century. International organizations particularly consider reducing inequalities as a prerequisite for ensuring sustainable human welfare. Türkiye is one of the countries facing increasingly deepening income inequality following the neo-liberal transformation in the 1980s and currently has one of the high income inequalities. Therefore, investigating the factors affecting income inequality is of great importance. This study analyzes the factors affecting the Gini coefficient, which is an indicator of income inequality in Türkiye during the 1987-2021 period, in the context of industrialization, civil liberties, natural resource rents, and globalization. Using the Fourier-augmented ARDL approach, the main findings of the study confirm: i) the existence of a cointegrated relationship between variables, ii) increases in industrialization, natural resource rents, globalization, and individual freedoms have reducing effects on income inequality. Additionally, the results are consistent when using the FMOLS estimator for the model's robustness analysis. From a policy standpoint, in combating income inequality in Türkiye, alongside economic factors such as re-prioritizing industrialization as a main objective, ensuring fair and transparent distribution of revenues from natural resource rents, and managing globalization in a way that improves income distribution, it is also extremely important to implement institutional improvements that guarantee individual freedoms.

A study on the impact of artificial intelligence on demand forecasting in food industries

Salman Alam Khan, Aylin Erdoğdu — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0300

This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the food supply chain by improving forecasting, demand planning, and operational efficiency. AI technologies like predictive analytics and machine learning enhance accuracy and responsiveness but face challenges such as data quality, system integration, and high costs. By surveying 370 food industry professionals, the research explores the benefits and barriers of AI adoption, providing actionable insights to optimize supply chain processes. The findings aim to support businesses and policymakers in leveraging AI strategically for competitive advantage and supply chain resilience.

Taxation of agricultural emissions in combating climate change: The case of Denmark

Fatma Turna — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0300

The agricultural sector is responsible for approximately one-third of global warming pollution, with nearly half originating from the livestock industry. However, until now, governments worldwide have focused their emission reduction efforts more on fossil fuels than the agricultural sector. Although the idea of imposing a tax on agricultural emissions was first proposed by New Zealand in 2022, it was later canceled due to criticism from farmers and a change in government. Nevertheless, Denmark has announced that it will impose a tax on carbon dioxide emissions from livestock starting in 2030, making it the first country in the world to implement a carbon tax on agriculture. Denmark, a significant exporter of cattle, pigs, and dairy products, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% compared to 1990 levels through this tax. The project creates a fresh "Eco Partnership" pact that involves the state, farming industry groups, ecological organizations, and labor unions. This pact includes various actions designed to tackle the environmental and climate effects of the nation’s farming industry, such as proposals to implement a greenhouse gas levy on animal emissions. According to the government, Denmark's new initiative will be the first in the world to impose a carbon tax on livestock starting in 2030. Under the new program, livestock producers will initially be taxed at 120 kroner ($17) per ton of CO2e, increasing to 300 kroner ($43) by 2035. The government has stated that the revenue from the livestock tax will be returned to the sector as a transition support fund to facilitate its green transformation between 2030 and 2031, with a review of the revenue allocation planned for 2032. Denmark's historic compromise tax agreement is subject to parliamentary approval. However, political experts anticipate that it will pass with broad consensus. This study will discuss climate taxation in the agricultural sector and provide insights into Denmark's agricultural and climate policies. In this context, the scope of the Green Tripartite Agreement will be examined, and this policy will be evaluated.

The nexus between financial development and economic growth in the SADC region: Empirical evidence using ARDL-PMG estimation techniques

Ngonidzashe Chiranga — Sun, 02 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0300

This study aims to provide empirical insights into the financial development and economic growth nexus in the SADC region by examining how much financial development translates to economic growth in the short or long run. Also, the examination of economic growth is impacted more by external or internal factors. Also, causality testing economic growth on financial development. The study applies the panel Autoregressive Distributive method (ARDL-PMG) on a panel data set of 11 SADC countries in the period 1998-2021. The study finds a negative and significant relationship between economic growth and financial development at a 1% level of significance in the long run whereas in the short run, the relationship is negative but not significant. Furthermore, the study findings suggest that economic growth in the SADC region is more influenced by external factors than internal factors as signified by the significant negative long-run influence of external debt and the significant positive influence of trade openness. On the other hand, financial development has a neutral impact on economic growth. The study recommends that SADC countries should embrace outward-looking policies as an avenue to learn new ideas from the world.

Examining macroeconomic performance of G20 countries with multi-criteria decision making methods TOPSIS and SAW

Eda Genişel Çınar, Özlem Deniz Başar — Sun, 02 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0300

There are many studies in the literature to analyze the macroeconomic performance of countries. These studies contribute to obtaining various results by analyzing the subject with different indicators. The aim of this study is to examine the macroeconomic performances of G20 countries for the 2022 period with the TOPSIS and SAW methods from the Multi-Criteria Decision Making Methods and to compare the results obtained for both methods. In this study, variables such as growth, import, export, inflation, unemployment, foreign direct investment, gross domestic product and expenditure were used. However, the European Union, Argentina and Russia were not included in the study because the World Bank did not publish data for some variables for the 2022 period. In the TOPSIS method, the country that gave the best results was Italy, while in the SAW method, the country that gave the best results was the People's Republic of China. In addition, Turkey was ranked last in the TOPSIS method, while South Africa was ranked last in the SAW method. The different application steps for both methods caused this difference in the results. The fact that the study includes different and detailed macroeconomic indicators for the G20 countries constitutes its unique aspect and reveals its difference from other studies in the literature.

Creative industries in global trade: An international competitiveness analysis

Mehmet Cemil Şimşek — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0300

Creative industries are increasingly recognized as key drivers of sustainable economic development. This study examines the international trade competitiveness of 226 economies in the creative industries, utilizing seven widely utilised indices of trade competitiveness for the most recent year data available, 2023. The analysis explores export, import, and trade balance patterns across various economic groups, regions, and major economies in creative industries. It also identifies the export value of the most traded ten creative industries products worldwide. Findings reveal that approximately 78% of the 226 countries exhibit comparative disadvantages or lack international competitiveness in creative industries. Notably, there is a high concentration of competitiveness in the creative industries around certain major countries, particularly in Asia-Pacific and European regions, including countries such as Türkiye, Italy, India, China, Indonesia, France, Vietnam, Poland, Portugal, Thailand, and Spain. Furthermore, 10 out of 262 creative industry products account for 52.4% of creative industries exports in the world, indicating a high level of product concentration in creative industries. This study also reveals that inter-industry trade, driven by comparative advantage, is the dominant pattern in international creative industries trade, with only around 3% of countries exhibiting intra-industry trade patterns.

The effect of renewable energy production in Turkey on exports

Tolunay Yıldız — Sun, 02 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0300

Bu çalışmada, Türkiye'deki yenilenebilir enerji üretiminin ihracata etkisi incelenmiştir. Özellikle Yenilenebilir Enerji Kaynaklarını Destekleme Mekanizması (YEKDEM) çerçevesinde yürütülen politikaların yenilenebilir enerji üretimindeki yeri incelenmiştir. Yıllık yenilenebilir enerji üretim verileri ile ihracat verileri arasındaki ilişkiyi anlamak amacıyla regresyon analizi yapılmıştır. Analiz sonuçları, yenilenebilir enerji üretiminin Türkiye'nin ihracatını olumlu yönde etkilediği ve artırdığı sonucuna varmaktadır.