We use a time-varying dynamic factor model with regime switching to construct and estimate the leading indicators of the currency crises in Turkey. After that, we analyze the business cycles of the Turkish economy, by using a three-state univariate Markov-switching model. Both models capture the...

Many developing countries display remarkably high degrees of urban concentration that are incommensurate with their levels of urbanization. The cost of excessively high levels of urban concentration can be very high in terms of overpopulation, congestion, and productivity growth. One strand of...

Forward looking monetary policy rules are estimated for Israel and Turkey. When variable inflation targets are taken into consideration, as opposed to the fixed targets used in prior research that use data from developed countries, forward looking Taylor rules seem to provide reasonable...

Many developing countries display remarkably high degrees of urban concentration that are incommensurate with their levels of urbanization. The cost of excessively high levels of urban concentration can be very high in terms of overpopulation, congestion, and productivity growth. One strand of...

Although the relationship between financial development and growth is almost obvious, the effect of inflation on the finance-growth nexus is still a subject of debate. In particular, what is the optimal rate of inflation for long-run growth? To answer this question, I analyze the relation...

Why is a proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) between certain types of countries observed instead of progress in attaining global free trade through a multilateral FTA? This paper answers this question by exploring the enforceability of different types of FTAs through...