Post-2000 Period Research Articles

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Sociology in Post-1990 Turkey

This study explores the spatio-temporal conditions of producing sociological knowledge at universities at a time of transformation in post-1990 (1990–2017) Turkey. Through a content analysis of the sociology PhD theses submitted in this period, it investigates the questions of where, when, and how sociological knowledge is institutionalized in Turkey. The study has two main findings. First, spatial distribution of sociology PhD theses highlights the ensuing centre–periphery relationships inside Turkey, a country itself located in the periphery. Endowed with better resources, the centre (mainly Ankara and Istanbul) focuses on macro solutions to the problems faced by Turkey and other countries, whereas the rest of the country produces knowledge about their immediate surroundings, that is, particular regions/cities/towns of Turkey. This difference illustrates the degrees to which sociological research in post-1990 Turkey is territorially limited by (Turkish) national borders. Second, temporally speaking, the sociological interest in domestic issues revolves mainly around ‘politics’ and ‘economy’, insofar as they relate to the economic crises, neoliberalism, globalization, and democratization attempts Turkey experienced in the post-1990 period. A closer reading of this spatio-temporality may suggest that Turkish sociology is susceptible to methodological nationalism that downplays the impact of nationalism, conforms to the nation-state and nations, and territorially limits the unit of analysis. Despite the transformations brought about by the period and the spatial differences in knowledge production between the centre and the periphery, sociology in Turkey is bound by the national territorial and ideational boundaries, reproducing the ethnic, political, cultural, and social foundations of Turkish nationalism. This study argues that although Turkish sociology stands on the periphery within the non-Western context, it is nonetheless formalized around its own centre–periphery relationship within the country itself, and that its spatio-temporal institutionalization in the post-1990 period has reproduced an implicit methodological nationalism that relies on Turkish nationalism.

Polarized Families, Polarized Parties: Contesting Values and Economics in American Politics

In Polarized Families, Polarized Parties, the Fairfield University political scientist Gwendoline M. Alphonso examines the politics of family values in the United States across the twentieth century, focusing on three key periods: the Progressive Era, the post–World War II years, and the span from 1970 to the present. Her goal is to study American political party development through charting ideational shifts in how parties discuss family. Alphonso uses qualitative discourse analysis of congressional committee hearings in which legislators discuss specific family cases to discover “patterns in the content of how legislators talk about, illustrate, and justify their policy responses” (p. 6). Alphonso's focus on which family examples legislators drew on during policy discussions is innovative and illuminating; for example, she finds that in the post-1970 period, legislators from both political parties disproportionately drew black family examples “from those on welfare with an extramarital family structure,” with 32 percent of black family cases including welfare compared to just 5 percent of white family cases (p. 149). She also examines congressional bills addressing family sexuality, family structure, parenting, family property and wealth, and public assistance.

The nature of shadow bank leverage shocks on the macroeconomy

Recently a group of non-bank financial institutions, known as the shadow banks, has developed beside the traditional commercial banking sector in the US. Based on the argument of Serletis and Xu (2019) that the traditional banking was overtaken by shadow banks at around the year of 2000, I run two structural VAR models to examine the impact of shadow bank leverage shocks on some key economic indicators in pre-2000 and post-2000 periods. This is a new approach in the literature to examine how the macroeconomy is influenced by the shadow banking sector over time. I find that the traditional contractionary interest rate policy is not helpful to control the leverage of shadow banks. The impulse responses from the VAR models show that shadow bank leverage has become an important economic indicator during the post-2000 period because of its capacity to influence key macroeconomic variables. I suggest the policymakers controlling the leverage of the shadow banks besides the traditional contractionary monetary policy to prevent asset bubbles and maintain financial stability.

Multi-decadal hydrologic change and variability in the Amazon River basin: understanding terrestrial water storage variations and drought characteristics

Abstract. We investigate the interannual and interdecadal hydrological changes in the Amazon River basin and its sub-basins during the 1980–2015 period using GRACE satellite data and a physically based, 2 km grid continental-scale hydrological model (LEAF-Hydro-Flood) that includes a prognostic groundwater scheme and accounts for the effects of land use–land cover (LULC) change. The analyses focus on the dominant mechanisms that modulate terrestrial water storage (TWS) variations and droughts. We find that (1) the model simulates the basin-averaged TWS variations remarkably well; however, disagreements are observed in spatial patterns of temporal trends, especially for the post-2008 period. (2) The 2010s is the driest period since 1980, characterized by a major shift in the decadal mean compared to the 2000s caused by increased drought frequency. (3) Long-term trends in TWS suggest that the Amazon overall is getting wetter (1.13 mm yr−1), but its southern and southeastern sub-basins are undergoing significant negative TWS changes, caused primarily by intensified LULC changes. (4) Increasing divergence between dry-season total water deficit and TWS release suggests a strengthening dry season, especially in the southern and southeastern sub-basins. (5) The sub-surface storage regulates the propagation of meteorological droughts into hydrological droughts by strongly modulating TWS release with respect to its storage preceding the drought condition. Our simulations provide crucial insight into the importance of sub-surface storage in alleviating surface water deficit across Amazon and open pathways for improving prediction and mitigation of extreme droughts under changing climate and increasing hydrologic alterations due to human activities (e.g., LULC change).

Moderating Effect of Information Asymmetry on the Signalling Role of IPO Lockup Provision

This article examines the moderating effect of information asymmetry on the relationship between parameters of lockup provision and flipping activity of Malaysian initial public offerings (IPOs). While the main purpose of lockup provision is to promote commitment of major shareholders for the well-being of the IPO issuing companies at least throughout the lockup period, its role could also extend as a signalling device. Information asymmetry is prevalent in the context of IPOs because information on the issuing firms is normally very limited that the evaluation of the firms’ true value becomes difficult. This study postulates that the lockup provision has a greater influence on flipping activity in higher information asymmetry companies than in lower ones. Using data from 370 Malaysian IPOs issued from January 2000 to December 2012, the results of the multiple regression analyses show that both lockup ratio and lockup period have significantly negative impacts on flipping activities. Since lockup period is uniformly longer (1 year) prior to the 2008 Equity Guidelines revision, the results imply that investors have a greater tendency to flip during the post-2008 revision period when major shareholders are perceived to be less strongly accounted for their firms’ performance. The results also show that information asymmetry moderates the negative relationship between lockup provision and flipping activity, specifically, in regard to lockup period.

Captured by the Quagmire: Iraq's Lost Generation and the Prospects for Children across the Arab Region Today

Increasing legibility is now available through NGO and U.N. data, which has been collected across Iraq, for an assessment of the contemporary state of social welfare amongst Iraqi children and the residual effects of the regime change that took place in 2003. This data will be examined, contextualized to the post-2003 period and the potential for theory-building will be explored. The picture that emerges suggests the level of humanitarian catastrophe resulting from the U.S.-led 2003 invasion and occupation recommends further interrogation of the policy of ‘regime change’ for its role in informing U.S. actions. Additionally, such catastrophic humanitarian outcomes lead to questions surrounding future use of regime change efforts. The Iraqi case exhibits the destruction of the state apparatus, with social and cultural institutions built from Iraq's 1932 independence, rather than a direct replacement of those ruling the state. Iraqi children, not yet born when the 2003 invasion took place, have borne the brunt of the Iraqi state's destruction, with an absence of care from those who carried out the change in regime.

After the Crash: the conservation-planning assemblage in an era of austerity

ABSTRACTThis paper focuses upon the practice of conservation applied through the planning systems of three European countries, Ireland, the Netherlands and England, here termed conservation-planning. The values and validated practice of conservation-planning are considered in terms of the concept of Authorised Heritage Discourses (AHDs) that are internationally-shaped but nationally articulated in each country, and by a distinct conservation-planning social entity that may be described as an ‘assemblage’. The post-2008 period has seen over-arching economic similarities in economic and political forces affecting conservation-planning practice in each country. In each case public-sector austerity measures have been accompanied by ideological re-positionings over the role of the state and a greater emphasis upon ‘selling the historic city’ has been accompanied by a declining public-sector capacity to manage change within the frame of traditionally established AHDs. The partial withdrawal of the state has in each case resulted in adjustments in the construction of the assemblage and thus in the ‘ownership’ of the AHDs with a greater involvement of the private sector in these processes. Despite similarities in conservation discourse, shaped by an international AHD, differences exist between the countries considered, which we can better understand by reference to the conservation-planning assemblage in each country.

Neo-liberal Macroeconomic Policy and Structural Transformation of Indian Economy: Impact on Income, Employment and Distribution

Predominant objective of macroeconomic policies in developing countries has been to achieve higher level of potential economic growth and sustain it once it is achieved. Macroeconomic policy in India, on the backdrop of severe balance of payment crisis, has witnessed major shift in the early 1990s when neo-liberal economic policy on the pressure of IMF and World Bank has been adopted abandoning the socialist pattern of economic policy pursued in the post-independence period. Since implementation its scope has been consistently widening in terms of economic reform in different sectors of the economy, now its impact both positive and adverse is clearly visible. Since the last two and half decades, the serious adverse implication of the new economic policy is visible, particularly on the widening income inequality, although there has been positive effect on achieved higher aggregate economic growth. The major channel through which it is manifested is less than desired performance on labour market as employment generation has slowed down drastically when compared to the long-term trend in employment generation. In post-1991 period during 1993–1994 and 2011–2012, the growth in employment has been around 1.3% per annum against long-term growth rate of 2.11% per annum between 1977–1978 and 2011–2012. Even those employments generated are mostly in construction and low-productive services sector and are precarious and casual in nature. The paper has contributed in understanding the phenomena of rising inequality in the nature of production, through examination of structure and composition of output, employment and emerging wide disparity across sectors. We have shown by examining output per worker and concentration of workforce across sectors the problem of existing and rising income inequality.

Riding the wave of distrust and alienation – new parties in Serbia after 2008

Abstract Serbian party system is in the phase of reconfiguration which can be perceived as the outcome of domestic incentives (crisis of democratic transition and of democratic rule) and the international one (economic and migrant crisis). On one side, this reconfiguration includes emergence of predominant ruling party (Serbian Progressive Party, SNS) with strong leader and popular support; on the other side, the opposition camp has been atomized into number of smaller parties. Most of these parties are the new one (including the SNS) and founded after 2008 elections and creation of pro-EU consensus among relevant parties; post-2008 period has been characterized by the decline of almost all old parties, followed by emergence, partial success and fast decline of a large number of new actors. In this paper I am investigating if these new parties can be explained as the unexpected consequence of ideological and political stability after 2008 elections, tactical narrowing of the ideological space and cartelization of the party system. Analysis will focus at populist and anti-partisan ideas, their interplay and different ideological interpretation.

School leadership in the reforms of the Hong Kong education system: insights into school-based development in policy borrowing and indigenising

ABSTRACT This study aims at elaborating the reform policy effects on school leadership practices for quality educational development in the evolving hybrid of Western and Confucian cultures in Hong Kong. Why were education reforms and changes intensified in Hong Kong's education system in the post-1997 decades? How were these reform policies effectively implemented to bring about the changes in the school community? What insights into educational development can be drawn from the policy effects of school-based improvement on school leadership in the changing cultural context? The findings derived from the content analysis of the meanings of the articles selected by a systematic review approach show an urgent need for success in the political and cultural shift in alignment with the international trend of neoliberal-driven educational outcomes in the post-1997 period. School leadership was turned into collaborative whole-school participation in policy indigenising for improvement in a highly accountable context. These insights inspired us to conceptualise a framework of quality education development in policy borrowing/indigenising in school-based improvement.

Scaling Up Market Anomalies

This paper implements momentum among a host of market anomalies. Our investment universe consists of the 15 top (long-leg) and 15 bottom (short-leg) anomaly portfolios. The proposed active strategy buys (sells short) a subset of the top (bottom) anomaly portfolios based on past one-month return. The evidence shows statistically strong and economically meaningful persistence in anomaly payoffs. Our strategy consistently outperforms a naive benchmark that equal weights anomalies and yields an abnormal monthly return ranging between 1.273% and 1.471%. The persistence is robust to the post-2000 period, and various other considerations, and is stronger following episodes of high investor sentiment.

The Song Is Still a ‘Weapon’: The Portuguese Identity in Times of Crises

This article examines a set of Portuguese songs that ‘sing’ the economic, financial and social crises in Portugal in the post-2008 period. This work underlies a heuristic principle: to demonstrate how artistic manifestations—in this case, the songs in several (sub-)genres of popular music—are themselves a means and an object of social intervention, demarcating a specific, defined space in the acknowledgment and revelation of social problems, and in the contestation, deconstruction and accusation of problems that deal with social reality. We demonstrate that these songs seek to denounce and sometimes incite social change with the aim of creating transformation. They are therefore signs of a specific space—identity producers—and not just an echo of social reality. Insurgent songs instigate readings, narratives and deconstructions of reality, and they are simultaneously significant elements of a collective identity.

Lead-Lag Relationships between Import Commodity Prices and Freight Rates: The Case of Raw Material Imports of Korea

Purpose - This study investigates the lead-lag relations between the prices of major commodities imported into Korea and corresponding shipping freight rates. This paper aims to provide implications for cross-market causal relations between related economic segments. Design/Methodology - For economic long-run equilibrium between commodity prices and freights, a Johansen (1988) cointegration test is employed first. Then, Granger (1987) causality tests are performed under the vector error correction model (VECM) framework. Findings - The results indicate that the direction of causality varies by raw materials, which is attributable to different economic mechanisms in the corresponding shipping transportation sectors. In addition, the significance of causality becomes blurred during the post-2008 period. Practical Implication - Corporate managers in commodity trading, steelmaking, power generation, and oil refinery sectors can take advantage of the findings in this study as identifying leading economic indicators can be helpful for decision making in both short- and long-term strategies. Originality/value - This study is the first attempt to analyze the inter-relations between commodity prices and corresponding freight rates focusing on raw material imports of Korea.

Historical changes in New York State streamflow: Attribution of temporal shifts and spatial patterns from 1961 to 2016

To better understand the effects of climate change on streamflow, the hydrologic response to both temperature and precipitation needs to be examined at the mesoscale. New York State provides a hydrologically diverse mesoscale region, where sub-regional clusters of watersheds may respond differently to changes in temperature and in seasonal precipitation rates. Connections between streamflow and climate were examined for 97 gaging stations across the state and surrounding areas, for a historical period of 56 years of daily average streamflow. Gages were grouped into clusters if their mean annual discharge rates were strongly correlated to one another. Within each cluster, sharp temporal changes in discharge, or change points, were identified. These change points clustered both spatially and by flow regime, with low, medium, and high flows increasing around 1970 for much of the state consistent with other studies in the region. A step increase in Catskill low flows in 2003 coincides with increases in summer precipitation, and is consistent with a positive correlation between summer precipitation and annual low flows. Our results support previous studies that have shown that streamflow at this mesoscale is strongly tied to precipitation, and the strength of that connection is modulated by land cover, geographic position, and seasonal moisture conditions. Across the state, the winter-spring center of volume date has moved earlier along with increasing January streamflow rates, the result of warmer winter temperatures and an increased proportion of precipitation as rain. The transition to a post-1970s pluvial period also coincided with more frequent peak over threshold flows statewide, and this wetter period has continued to the present day.

Protection of Capitalism as a Regime of Rationality: A Historical Institutionalist Rereading of Modern Turkey’s Industrial Relations

Turkey’s current collective labour legislation places heavy restrictions on trade union, strike, and collective bargaining rights. Regarding which, conventional wisdom cites the country’s ongoing neoliberal transformation since the early 1980s. This article explains the post-1980 institutional transformation by placing the institutional history of Turkey’s industrial relations under the optic of historical institutionalism by laying special emphasis on the dominant interests steering industrial relations and the legal and practical causal mechanisms put at work in materialisation of these interests. It is concluded that curtailment of work-related collective rights and freedoms for the protection of capitalist development has displayed a remarkable historical continuity as a regime of rationality in Turkey. Such restriction created long-term institutional path-dependencies in the policies governing Turkey’s industrial relations, thereby exerting a significant impact on industrial relations policy and practices in the post-1980 period.

Bank Income Smoothing, Institutions and Corruption

This study investigates bank income smoothing, focusing on the effect of corruption on the extent of income smoothing by African banks. I find that banks use loan loss provisions to smooth positive (non-negative) earnings particularly in the post-2008 crisis period and this behaviour is reduced by strong investor protection. Also, I find that banks in highly corrupt environments smooth their positive (non-negative) earnings as opposed to smoothing the entire profit distribution. Finally, cross-country variation in bank income smoothing is observed. The findings have implications.

Last Scene Underground: An Ethnographic Novel of Iran

Last Scene Underground: An Ethnographic Novel of Iran

Kuznets Revisited: What Do We Know about the Relationship between Structural Transformation and Inequality?

This paper revisits the Kuznets postulate that structural transformation will be associated with increasing inequality using comparable time series data for 32 developing and recently developed economies for the post-1950 period. We find that structural transformation in the majority of our economies has resulted in the movement of workers from agriculture to services, and not to manufacturing. Economies show different paths of structural transformation that cut across geographical regions, being either structurally underdeveloped, structurally developing, or structurally developed. We see clear differences in the structural transformation–inequality relationship depending on the stage of structural transformation that a particular economy is in, as well as across regions. We do not see a Kuznets-type relationship between manufacturing employment share and inequality when we take into account the different paths of industrialization that economies in our dataset have followed. On the other hand, inequality unambiguously increases with structural transformation if the movement of workers from agriculture is to services.

How Fiscal Policies Affect Credit Rates: Probit Analysis of Three Main Credit Rating Agencies’ Sovereign Credit Notes

The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between fiscal policy and sovereign credit ratings within a comparative framework for the post-2000 period. In this study, indicators affecting credit notes of three rating agencies through domestic savings, growth, inflation, unemployment, current account balance and public revenues, public expenditures, primary deficits, budget deficits and public debt data for selected countries for the period between 2001 and 2016 are evaluated by using probit analysis under four scenarios. The study reveals that growth, unemployment, savings, current account deficit and public debt have come to the forefront in the realizations and far estimates, while the main indicators in the public sector, namely the impact of expenditure, deficit, primary balance and debt on rating decisions, are more dominant in the near estimates. These results show that the factors that are differentiating the credit rating evaluation period are the indicators of public finance. It seems that models used by the credit institutions are more likely to show short-term outcomes in the sense of public finance parameters mainly reflecting the macroeconomic responsibility level of the ruling governments.

Bank income smoothing, institutions and corruption

This study investigates bank income smoothing, focusing on the effect of corruption on income smoothing by African banks. I find that banks use loan loss provisions to smooth positive (non-negative) earnings particularly in the post-2008 crisis period and this behaviour is reduced by strong investor protection. Also, I find that banks in highly corrupt environments smooth their positive (non-negative) earnings as opposed to smoothing the entire profit distribution. Finally, cross-country variation in bank income smoothing is observed. The findings have implications.