Abstract. This study examines the relationship between consumer confi dence, personal consumption, and other relevant economic and fi nancial variables for 9 European Union countries. It is argued that consumer confi dence is an early indicator of future rates of growth in an economy through the consumption channel. Therefore, an increase in consumer confi dence should translate into higher rates of consumption in the future, leading to a possible rise in economic growth. Our panel data analysis, conducting panel unit root tests and panel cointegration tests, tries to measure the effects of changes in consumer sentiment on personal consumption expenditures while accounting for other signifi cant economic and fi nancial variables such as stock exchange index, real exchange rates and interest rates. The empirical fi ndings show the existence of a longrun relationship. Thus, consumers are able to detect early signals about future rates of economic growth as they contribute through the consumption channel.

The impact of government spending on private consumption is extensively studied in the literature. However, the main theme of these studies is the possible crowding-in or crowding-out impact of government spending on consumer spending. This paper attempts to introduce a new variable to this well-known literature by investigating the existence of a relationship between government expenditure, consumer spending and consumer confidence for a group of emerging market countries. We examine whether a change in consumer confidence causes any change in government spending. Moreover, we analyze whether there is a feedback from government spending and private consumption to consumer confidence. Our empirical findings demonstrate the important role of consumer confidence on government spending and private consumption expenditures

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Bir ülkenin gelişmesine ve büyümesine katkıda bulunacak en önemli kaynaklardan biri olan genç iş gücünün iş gücü piyasalarına entegrasyonu ülkelerin mühim konularından biridir. Genç işsizliği, izlenecek politikalar ve genel işsizlik içerisindeki payı açısından ayrı bir yere sahiptir. Genç işsizliğinin temel unsurlarını anlamak, genç işsizliğini azaltmaya yönelik uygulanacak politikalar üretmek ve halen uygulanmakta olan politikaların verimliliğini arttırmak açısından büyük önem taşımaktadır. Bu çalışmada, İstatistiki Bölge Birimleri Sınıflandırılması 2 (İBBS-2) düzeyinde Türkiye' de 26 bölgedeki genç işsizliğin nedenleri makroekonomik ve demografik değişkenler kullanılarak Arellano-Bond dinamik paneli ile tahmin edilmiştir. Enflasyon ve göreli kohort büyüklüğünün Türkiye' de bölgesel genç işsizliğini etkilediği fakat dışa açıklığın ve ekonomik büyümenin anlamlı bir etkiye sahip olmadığı sonucuna varılmıştır. Bölgeler arasında yüksek derecede farklılaşma gösteren genç işsizlik probleminin çözümünde bölgelerin karakteristik özelliklerinin de dikkate alınmasının gerekliliği vurgulanmıştır.

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It is undeniably accepted that labor underutilization has important consequences for economies and societies. Unemployment that is the narrowest measure of labor underutilization is one of the main concerns for policymakers, investors, and society. Besides the standard unemployment rate, there are alternative measures of labor underutilization providing a wider picture of the underutilization of workforce. This study aims to delineate some facts about labor underutilization by age and gender for a group of European countries in a broader view. For this purpose, specifically, time-related underemployment and potential labor force data are employed to measure the labor underutilization along with unemployment. It is observed that there are significant gender and age differences in the labor underutilization components across countries. Elasticity and descriptive analyses together verify that time-related underemployment is more sensitive to unemployment than the potential labor force. While the sensitivity of time-related underemployment to changes in unemployment differs by gender and age, the potential labor force is almost equally sensitive to unemployment regardless of age and gender. The study additionally displays the degree of reallocation between underutilization components and suggests a higher reallocation for the young than adults. On the other hand, reallocation between labor underutilization components is not gender-biased.

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