Research
Dissertation:
Yaya, Mehmet E.,``Immigration, Income Inequality and Stochastic Dominance: An Empirical Study on the Immigrants in US'' (Proposal Accepted on May 2008).Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the income inequality and income distribution of immigrants in the U.S. The comparison of immigrants’ and US income distribution is believed to shed light on some of the important questions yet to be answered such as, “What are the determinants of income inequality of immigrants in U.S.?,” “Are the income distributions of these two groups the same?,” “How does the income distribution and inequality of immigrants change over time?,” and “How does the income distribution of immigrants affect the income distribution of the host country?”
Job Market Paper:
Yaya, Mehmet,``Income Distribution and the Determinants of Income Inequality of Immigrants in the United States'' (October 2008)Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to examine income inequality and income distributions among immigrants in the United States. Robust regression analysis indicates that the differences in income inequalities of immigrant groups can be explained by a wide array of variable groups such as income, immigrant group characteristics, economic development of the source country, and geographical dummies. The results suggest that household income is not a significant factor determining the Gini coefficient of immigrant groups. In contrast, schooling, number of years spent in the U.S., and Asian continental dummy are statistically significant and robust to different measures of income inequality. For inequalities based on personal income, income, educational attainment, and English proficiency of the immigrant group are the significant and robust factors.
Working Papers:
Yaya, Mehmet E., Hoover, Gary A.,``The Effect of Immigration on Income Inequality: A Theoretical Approach'' (August 2008)
Abstract:
Earlier literature empirically showed that skilled immigration shocks in developed countries have decreased income inequality and unskilled immigration shocks have increased it. In these earlier studies, immigrants and natives are close substitutes and immigration increases the supply of labor; hence it places a downward pressure on wages. Vanhoudt’s (2000) recent study introduced a simple theoretical model that generates income and income inequality using a three-factor model of production. Our study extends Vanhoudt’s model and shows the relationship between immigration and income inequality. Our model suggests that income inequality may increase after a skilled immigration shock is observed in a developed country. The result stems from the fact that income inequality is determined not only by the changes in labor supply but also by the changes in elasticity of wages with respect to income inequality.
Yaya, Mehmet E.,``Turkish Tourism Industry, Terrorism, and Warfare'' (March 2008), under review.
Abstract:
Time series analysis of Turkish terrorism and tourism data during 1985:1-2006:12 shows terrorism has a relatively small negative effect on tourism with approximately one year lag. There are two plausible reasons for this small effect: first, terrorist groups in Turkey do not generally target areas that are subject to heavy tourism activity. Second, the intensity of the terrorist incidents in these tourist attractions is limited. The effects of the Persian Gulf Wars, 9/11, and the Madrid bombings on tourism were also studied. The significant negative effect is detected only for the first Persian Gulf War. Only active war involvement of Turkey in a neighboring country has a negative impact, but terrorism incidents in continental Europe or America have no significant effect on tourism. Finally, the economic cost of the first Persian Gulf War is found to be as large as the economic cost of terrorism in Turkey.
Yaya, Mehmet E., "Immigration, Trade and Wages in Germany" (May 2006).
Abstract:
This paper examines the effect of several macroeconomic variables such as GDP, imports,unemployment, immigration and emigration on the real wages and salaries of German laborers. Annual data for 49 years has been used to estimate twelve different regressions, trying to capture the effect of variables on the real wages and salaries in Germany while considering the unification of West-East Germany with a dummy variable. The results are striking, and contradicting with most of the earlier literature. The paper concludes that wages are insensitive to the macroeconomics changes most of the time while salaries are more sensitive to these changes. The paper also contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of macroeconomic variables on the salary and wage changes of different gender groups.
Work in Progess:
Racial Differences in Income Inequality across U.S. Regions, with Gary Hoover
Income Inequality of U.S. Immigrants by Gender, with Gary Hoover
Immigration: An Austrian School Perspective, still reading