A services trade, which has increasingly got important and a subject of trade due to improvements in knowledge and communication technologies, has been one of the important sources of economic growth for many countries. In this study, the effect of services trade on economic growth for country groups classified according to their development levels has been empirically investigated using panel data techniques for 1980-2007. The results reveal that while the coefficient which shows the relationship between services trade and economic growth is insignificant for developed countries, it is found significant for developing countries and for the whole sample which comprises both country groups. However, it is also observed that this effect is larger for developing countries which have higher services trade shares.

Keywords:Services Trade, Economic Growth, Developed Countries, Developing Countries, Panel Data Analysis

The aim of this study is to investigate the seasonal patterns of five Turkish manufacturing industry series which have the main characteristics of Turkish economy during the1977:1-2008:4 periods. Many economic time series are often subject to systematic fluctuations within the year such as seasonal movements. All the studies concerning time series methods are useful only when the series do not show seasonal patterns or the methods that care of seasonal patterns used. For this reason, it is important to investigate the seasonal patterns of the series when working with economic time series data. The analysis is conducted using the HEGY approach developed by Hylleberg, Engle, Granger and Yoo (1990). It is important to determine what kind of seasonality is present in the data. For this reason, we search for the seasonal unit root with five different models that concern, trends, constant and seasonal dummies. We provide evidence on the presence of seasonal unit roots in the Turkish manufacturing industry series. The main finding is that there are both deterministic and non-stationary stochastic seasonality in the series.

Keywords:Seasonality, Seasonal Unit Root, HEGY Test Approach, Turkish Industrial Production Series

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting the use of internet banking as one of the banking services, and to determine relationship of the demographic characteristics of customers with these factors. For this purpose, six hypotheses have been developed within the framework of the research model. A questionnaire form was developed to determine these factors and was applied in 5 provinces in the Aegean region. From the all questionnaire applied, only 525 of them provided useable data. The data obtained were analyzed in steps by factor analysis, regression analysis, t-test and Anova analysis. According to results of the study, it is determined that especially security and privacy, then factors such as trust, being innovative, ease of use, awareness, quality of internet connection, the effect of social environment and ability to use computer had impact on the use of internet banking. Furthermore, evaluations of factors that affect the usage of internet banking vary according to demographic characteristics of individuals.

Keywords:Internet Banking, Costumer Perception, ANOVA

This study aims to compare Black Litterman Model and Markowitz Mean Variance Model with beta factor, unsystematic risk and total risk. The data set used in this study covers daily corrected prices of 17 firms’ listed on ISE for the period between 2003 and 2009. By using Markowitz Mean Variance Model and Black Litterman Model, totally 26 portfolios are formed. Portfolios formed with two model are compared with their risks. The results of the study illustrates that the portfolios formed with Black Litterman Model have lower beta factor, unsystematic risk and total risk.

Keywords:Black-Litterman Model, Markowitz Mean-Variance Model, Beta Factor, Unsystematic Risk, Total Risk

Participation banks that have gradually established an important presence for itself within the financial system firstly started their activities in 1983 by the name of special finance institutions. Establishment aim of special finance institutions is to bring in appropriations of the sector which have interest sensitivity to economy and to call up similar quality foreign funds to the country. Those institutions have got the name of participation banks since 2005 being included into the scope of banking law have carried on their business with 4 banks as of today in Turkey. Efficiency and productivity are the important performance indicators of firms at the present time and whereas efficiency indicates the level of attaining the current objective productivity is defined as the rate of available sources and acquired output to input. Efficiency and productivity criteria are described in the data and method section of the study. In this study, efficiency and productivity of fast growing and developing participation banks’ activities between the years of 2005-2011 within the financial system in Turkey was tried to be measured using TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to An Ideal Solution) method. According to analysis results, Albaraka Turk was defined as the most efficient and Bank Asya as the most productive. In parallel with Kuveyt Turk’s diversifying its financial

Keywords:Participation Banks, Efficiency, Productivity, TOPSIS Method.

This study attempts to develop new market efficiency tests depending on the spot and future prices, or the differences of them alternative to traditional unit root test build on univariate time series. As a result of the autocorrelation, normality and run tests applied to spot and futures prices or differences of them, and Adopted Purchasing Power Parity test based on a regression the future markets of ISE30, ISE100 index indicators, USD and Euro currencies, all of which have been traded dailly in the Izmir Futures and Options Market for five years, are found inefficient. Autocorrelation, normality and run tests on the differences between spot and futures prices series, and Adopted Purchasing Power Parity test, or autocorrelation, normality and run tests test based on spot series all rejected “the acceptance of efficient market hypothesis” under the existence of unit root in a series. The results of autocrrelation, normality and run tests based on univariate series are found contradictory to the unit root test result. As a result, the acceptance of “efficient market hypothesis” under the existence of unit root is not supported by alternative tests developed in this study. It is suggested that efficiency test shall be stepping on the spot and futures prices; differences of them or Adopted Purchasing Power Parity test developed here rather than unit root test based on univariate series, which is also not appropriate to the definition of futures market efficiency. In addition, one must be sure that the errors disturbances are randomized in deciding whether market is efficient or not.

Keywords:Futures markets, spot and futures prices, alternative efficiency tests, unit root, autocorrelation, normality, run, Adopted PPP test, Turkey

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Abstract

Although the EU has financial rules stipulated in the Maastricht Criteria, the 2008 global financial crisis had a negative impact on the financial performance of EU countries with reference to fiscal rules. Some EU member countries have slacked their fiscal policies, had budget deficit and postponed their fiscal rule policies to cope with global financial crisis. The fiscal rule is revived to establish fiscal discipline in EU member countries aftermath of financial crisis in Greece. Furthermore, the enormous levels of budget deficits in Portugal, Spain and Italian economies contributed the revival of discussions on harmonization to Maastricht Criteria. The EU Commission proposed a Six-Pack Application to effective co-ordination and monitoring of economic policies, on September 29th, 2010. The European Council approved the Six-Pack on October 4th, 2011, aiming to co-ordinate the economic policies of EU countries with reference to European Semester application. This paper aims to discuss the functionality and effectiveness of the Six-Pack Application and evaluate Turkey’s financial indicators with reference to the Six-Pack Application. 

Keywords:EU, Fiscal Rules, Six-Pack, Turkey

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Abstract

In recent years, several advences in information technologies have increased the computer use of consumers in the world and our country. These developments have revealed a new way of doing business known as e-commerce. For consumers, online shopping has become the most popular internet activity because it does not require much physical effort, personalize the shopping environment, provide time and cost savings to buyers, and allow comparisons of product, brand, price and company recognition. Therefore, this study focuses on measuring the trends of internet shopping of public employees. For this aim, we included 495 staff of Tokat Governer and Gaziosmanpasa University. This study proved that the educated and higher income levels consumers preferred the internet shopping. As a result, we showed that issues preventing preferring of the internet shopping are the delay in the delivery of products, and deceptive and misleading advertisements.

Keywords:Internet, Consumer, Purchasing Behavior

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Abstract

Turkish textile firms work under a heavily competitive atmosphere in terms of prices due to globalization. Firms have to take into consideration several criteria like cost, quality and delivery-on-time in order to survive the global market conditions and to maintain profitability. To meet these criteria, contractor companies have to select the best subcontractor. Therefore, the selection of subcontractor for the contractor company is a problem. The aim of this study is to solve the problem of Yeşim Textile, a contractor company, about the selection of the best subcontractor for its customer Nike. To solve the problem, firstly, the main criteria and relevant sub-criteria, which are of importance for Yeşim and Nike, were defined. Then, authorities from the firms were interviewed in order to formulate pairwise comparison matrices using the Saaty’s importance scale. In a sense, this matrix is the model of this study. The model, named AHP, was analyzed using the Expert Choice software. Best subcontractors for Yeşim were determined based on the model results. In addition, these results were analyzed for the firm’s decision makers.

Keywords:Analytical hierarchy process (AHP), Decision making, Multi criteria analysis, Contractor, Subcontractor

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Abstract

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the official declaration of the transition from socialism to capitalism, Russia, both in terms of its economic potential and population and in terms of its inheritance of a strict centralist system has a special standing among transitional economies. Having undertaken a “shock” transition to capitalism under the leadership of the International Monetary Fund, this period was quite painful. Within a short time, the country underwent one of its most severe and painful crisis in 1998. Far beyond a transition from socialism to capitalism, bearing the multi-dimensional change in cultural, political and policy areas coupled with a complex process in mind, this transition was no doubt much more difficult and sensitive for a nation like Russia that had a rooted socialist tradition. This reality when combined with a “shock therapy” strategy based on neo-classical prescriptions that guided this process did not take into account the particular condition of the nation together with standard reform policies that ignored institutional change, it became inevitable to question what type of a system came about in Russia. In this context, the purpose of this study is to examine whether the policies put into the implementation within the axis of a basic strategy that was chosen during the transition period did in fact create a capitalist system or not in Russia.

Keywords:Transition Economies, Transition Period in Russia, Neoclassic Transition Model, Shock Therapy, Gradualism.