Research

Publications

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Working Papers


Education and Savings for Retirement: Evidence from Pension Portfolios in Turkey , submitted



Abstract

I study the causal impacts of education on participation and wealth in defined contribution pension plans, using the 1997 Education Reform in Turkey that led to the substantial exogenous variation in schooling across birth cohorts. Employing a regression discontinuity design with an administrative data set spanning the universe of individual retirement accounts in Turkey, I find that the education reform increasing schooling by around half a year does not improve participation in defined contribution pension plans. Despite the strong positive correlation between education and the propensity to participate in defined contribution pension plans, I fail to find any causal evidence. However, I find that education reform improves pension wealth by around 3% for females but no improvement for males. I also examine financial channels through which education can potentially drive the wealth effects. Yet, I find no overall significant education impacts on equity participation and the share of wealth invested in equities. The increase in schooling does not impact financial sophistication, behavioral biases common in pension plans, also investment performance. Thus, education promotes wealth accumulation through the labor market channels rather than encouraging financial skills.


Once Upon a Time in Anatolia: The Long Run Development Effects of American Missions in Anatolia with Can Ozen, submitted.


 Abstract

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) significantly impacted Anatolia by investing in human capital through schools, colleges, and craft-skill training over a century. Using archival data and spatial analysis, we find increasing proximity by 100 km to ABCFM missions yields a higher present-day development index (0.72-1.18 standard deviations) and income (52%-166%). We isolate ABCFM impacts by comparing functional missions with planned but unimplemented ones and exploiting the exogenous geographical division between ABCFM and Presbyterian missions. Agricultural labor productivity, structural transformation, and transformed gender roles drive the results, contributing to long-term women’s empowerment and economic development.



Schooling and Stock Market Portfolios: Evidence from a Major Policy Reform in Turkey with Abdurrahman Aydemir, submitted.

Abstract

Financial decisions determine how agents smooth consumption throughout their lifespan. These decisions impact both economic growth and inequality. Using a highly detailed restricted dataset of the universe of investors in Turkey (Turkish Stock Exchange, Borsa Istanbul), we test whether schooling plays a role in their financial decisions. We exploit the exogenous substantial variation in schooling across birth cohorts brought about by the 1997 Turkish Education Reform of compulsory schooling within a regression discontinuity design. Our findings reveal that schooling has limited effects on stock market participation. After quantifying whether schooling changes stock market participation, we examine the effects of schooling on the share of wealth invested in equities and risky assets. Yet, our results suggest no overall significant impacts of schooling on the share of wealth invested in equities and risky assets. Overall, general education is at best a minor input to construct financially desirable portfolios.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Research in Progress