PurposeUsing a regression discontinuity design in tandem with a difference-in-discontinuities analysis, the study finds that increasing the minimum wage reduces the employment probability of young males by 2.5–3.1 percentage points.Design/methodology/approachThe authors exploit an age-specific minimum wage rule – which sets a lower minimum wage for workers of age 15 than the adult minimum wage paid to workers of age 16 and above – and its abolition to estimate the causal effect of a minimum wage increase on youth employment and education in Turkey.FindingsThe authors also document that, initially, the minimum wage increase does not lead to a major change in high school enrollment, while the likelihood of transitioning into “neither in employment nor in education and training” (NEET) category notably increases. However, in the medium term, the NEET effect is transitory; school enrollment increases over time and absorbs the negative employment effect.Originality/valueThe authors argue that policy effects have mostly been driven by demand-side forces rather than the supply side.

This paper analyzes the distribution of household portfolios in Turkey using a fresh data set, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey – Household Finance and Consumption Survey (CBRT-HFCS), which closes an important data gap by providing detailed data on households’ financial assets and liabilities. The empirical analysis concentrates on the motives behind household saving preferences and the distribution of household portfolios to financial instruments i.e. Turkish Lira and foreign currency denominated assets, gold, stocks and Individual Retirement Insurance funds. Moreover, the financial situation of households in Turkey is compared with selected European countries. We find that real assets and specifically housing wealth represents a larger share of total assets compared to financial assets in Turkey with respect to the Euro area. Another important finding is that the fraction of indebted households is higher, while households’ ability to save is significantly lower in Turkey. It is striking that the possibility of saving remains low even in the upper quintiles of household net wealth and income. Finally, the percentage of households with mortgage debt and the share of mortgage debt in total household liabilities are smaller in Turkey, suggesting that many households have to rely on their own funds or private loans to purchase homes. We can argue that households need to be encouraged to invest a larger share of their wealth in financial assets to raise household savings and to deepen financial markets in Turkey. JEL Classification: C21, D12, D14, D31

Bu çalışmada, kamu tarafından sunulan destek ve teşviklerden yararlanan firmaların yapısı ile bu firmaların ölçek, net satış ve ihracat açısından destek almayanlara göre performans farklılaşması betimsel olarak incelenmiştir. Bu amaçla, Sanayi ve Teknoloji Bakanlığı tarafından oluşturulan Girişimci Bilgi Sistemi çerçevesinde yer alan farklı veri setlerinin birleştirilmesi ile elde edilen özel bir veri seti kullanılmıştır. Analiz sonuçları, 2008-2018 yılları arasında KOSGEB, TÜBİTAK ve Sanayi ve Teknoloji Bakanlığı desteklerinden yararlanma oranının oldukça düşük olduğunu, bilgi ve iletişim sektörü ile imalat ve mesleki, teknik ve bilimsel faaliyetler sektörlerinin genele göre daha fazla yararlanma oranına sahip olduğunu göstermiştir. Model tahmin sonuçları kamu desteklerinden faydalanan ve faydalanmayan girişimlerin performans farklılaşmasını ortaya koymaktadır. Girişimler arasındaki farklılaşmanın performans ve destek türüne göre de değiştiği görülmüştür. En belirgin performans farklılaşması yatırım teşviklerde görülürken, en az farklılaşma TÜBİTAK desteklerinde gözlenmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacının Türkiye’de uygulanan desteklerden faydalanan firmaların özelliklerini ortaya koymak olduğu ve yapılan analizlerin etki analizi şeklinde yorumlanmaması gerektiği vurgulanmalıdır.

No abstract