Revisiting the finance–growth nexus: the Turkish case, 1980–2010

In Turkey, the empirical results on the link between financial development and economic growth are mixed. The existing studies do not take into account the fact that Turkey has experienced endemic political and economic instabilities over extended periods. This study aims to analyse the role of macroeconomic instability and public borrowing on the finance–growth nexus in Turkey by using time series econometric techniques over the 1980–2010 period. In doing so, we attempt to extend the existing literature by taking into account the role of macroeconomic instability as well as public borrowing. Our results reveal that there are additional – albeit indirect – channels between finance and growth via the effects of macro instability and public borrowing on financial development and economic growth. After taking into account the effects of overall instability and public borrowing, we found that growth–financial development relationship is bidirectional and permanent. In other words, in Turkish case, economic growth and financial development are jointly determined. Thus, our results shed some light on the ambiguity of the evidence on the link between financial development and economic growth for Turkey.     

Models for relief routing: Equity, efficiency and efficacy

In humanitarian relief operations, vehicle routing and supply allocation decisions are critically important. Similar routing and allocation decisions are studied for commercial settings where efficiency, in terms of minimizing cost, is the primary objective. Humanitarian relief is complicated by the presence of multiple objectives beyond minimizing cost. Routing and allocation decisions should result in quick and sufficient distribution of relief supplies, with a focus on equitable service to all aid recipients. However, quantifying such goals can be challenging. In this paper, we define and formulate performance metrics in relief distribution. We focus on efficacy (i.e., the extent to which the goals of quick and sufficient distribution are met) and equity (i.e., the extent to which all recipients receive comparable service). We explore how efficiency, efficacy, and equity influence the structure of vehicle routes and the distribution of resources. We identify trends and routing principles for humanitarian relief based on the analytical properties of the resulting problems and a series of computational tests.     

Sustainability practices of family firms: the interplay between family ownership and long-term orientation

Sustainability practices are critical for family firms, as they relate directly to the continuity of the business and relationships with important stakeholders, such as members of the local community. Nevertheless, not all family firms wish to adopt sustainability practices. To examine this, we draw upon the socioemotional wealth perspective in order to develop a theoretical model of the direct negative effects of family ownership on the adoption of sustainability practices. We also suggest moderating effects of long-term orientation (LTO) on this link. Our model is tested on a sample of 195 family firms in the tourism and hospitality sector. The results support our hypothesis that family ownership negatively influences the adoption of sustainability practices. Additionally, LTO moderates the relationship between family ownership and the adoption of sustainability practices, such that family owners with a high LTO are more likely to adopt this particular practice compared to those with a low LTO.     

An analysis of snow options for ski resort establishments

This study proposes a pricing method for put options on snow level for tourism establishments operating in Palandoken ski resort in the east of Turkey. In the calculation of put prices historical densities and Edgeworth adjusted densities methods together with Alaton, Djehiche, and Stillberger (2002) method have been applied. The findings show that there may be significant differences in the prices calculated by the three different methods, hence enabling both parties, i.e. buyers and sellers, with bases in the negotiation process. As the study is primarily aimed at providing a framework for pricing put options on snow levels in general, it is expected that it would be of use not only for this particular ski resort but also for various ski resorts in the world.     

Are Turkey's tourism markets converging? Evidence from the two-step LM and three-step RALS-LM unit root tests

In this study, we aim to analyse whether Turkey's 14 major tourist source markets are converging by using monthly data over the period January 1996 to December 2012. To this aim, we use the recently developed two-step Lagrange multiplier (LM) and three-step residual augmented least squares-Lagrange multiplier (RALS-LM) unit root tests that allow for two structural breaks in data. The results indicate that 10 out of 14 markets are converging, meaning that tourism policies and strategies directed at these markets are successful. Furthermore, the break points correspond to the important political, social, natural and economic events such as crisis, earthquake, disease and terrorist attack.     

Environmental performance of tourism accommodations in the protected areas: Case of Goreme Historical National Park

This study was designed to explore the nature of environmental performance of tourism accommodations in Goreme Historical National Park which is in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The data were collected from 73 accommodation managers by using survey questionnaire that included 39 environmental performance indicators. Findings show that tourism accommodations have low performance on energy efficiency, water conservation, responsible waste management, communication, environmental training, the environmental awareness, necessary knowledge about and interest in the environmental protection and environmental policy. The accommodations need to have environmentally sensitive, concerned and knowledgeable managerial staff in order to preserve ecological integrity in protected areas.     

Analysis of Bitcoin prices using market and sentiment variables

This paper proposes an empirical model for analysing the dynamics of Bitcoin prices. To do this, we consider a vector error correction model over two overlapping periods: 2010–17 and 2010–19. Price discovery is achieved through the Gonzalo–Granger permanent‐transitory decomposition. The pricing factors are endogenous linear combinations of the S&P 500 index, gold price, a Google search variable associated to Bitcoin and a fear index proxied by the FED Financial Stress Index. Our empirical analysis shows that during the first period, a linear combination of four pricing factors describes the efficient Bitcoin price. The S&P 500 index and Google searches have a positive effect whereas gold prices and the fear index have a negative effect. In contrast, during the second period, the efficient price behaves idiosyncratically and can be only rationalised by individuals' search for information on the cryptocurrency. These findings provide empirical evidence on the presence of a correction in Bitcoin prices during the period 2018–19 uncorrelated to market fundamentals. We also show that standard empirical asset pricing models perform poorly for explaining Bitcoin prices.     

MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISE GROWTH IN TURKEY: UNDER THE SHADOW OF FINANCIAL CRISIS

The present study analyzes the impacts of selected factors on the growth of micro and small enterprises (MSE) in Turkey. Using unique national field survey data on urban MSE that engage 1–49 persons, we present the determinants of MSE growth for the period between the start‐up of enterprises and the year 2000. We evaluate the impact of the financial crisis experienced in Turkey in 2001 on MSE. Detrimental effects of the crisis on MSE are clearly detected in our estimations. Some of the factors contributing to the growth of MSE lose their influence almost immediately during the crisis; indeed, the impact of some factors is reversed. Overall results reveal that there is much scope to design supportive policies for MSE to enable them to withstand the negative impacts of future crises, especially in emerging economies.     

How to maximize golden opinions

In this article, we aim to model the level and structure of the dependence between the world's leading stock markets and those of the emerging market groups?–?Europe, Latin America and Far East. To this end we use a mixture model of Gaussian, Gumbel and Gumbel survival copulas. Our results indicate that none of the pairs of stock markets exhibit a right-tail dependence structure. All valid models exhibit a mixture of Gaussian and left-tail dependence structure. Our findings imply that Gaussian dependence structure is dominant in most of the models. The emerging equity markets in the European region exhibit the most significant dependence structure with the world leaders. Furthermore, most of the emerging equity markets have a significant dependence structure with the US stock market. We further compare our findings with the results of the conventional correlation coefficients and conclude the importance of using copula models in analysing the portfolio diversification opportunities. Our findings overall indicate two important remarks: First, the copula models reveal better indicators for global investors to establish a diversified portfolio; Second, international equity markets exhibit significant dependence, which leaves a smaller opportunity to benefit from international portfolio diversification.