Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Ahmet Atıl Aşıcı

Author

Ahmet Atıl Aşıcı
Associate Professor of Economics, Istanbul Technical University

Ahmet Atıl Aşıcı is an associate professor of economics at the Istanbul Technical University. After graduating from the management engineering department at ITU in 1996, Aşıcı completed his master studies at Boğaziçi University in 1999 and his Ph D at the University of Geneva in 2007. Aşıcı worked as an associate economic officer at UNCTAD between 2005 and 2006. Aşıcı’s published extensively on his main areas of interest which are the relationship between economic growth and sustainability and green transformation. Aşıcı was a 2020-2021 Mercator-IPC fellow with a project titled Green New Deal for Turkey.

Content by this Author

Europe’s carbon pricing plans: potential effects on Turkey’s economy

The European Union’s newly introduced carbon border adjustment mechanism will have considerable effects on outside countries’ bilateral trade with the region. As this column explains, the European Green Deal and other new EU regulations, such as the circular economy action plan, will force trading partners to be more active on climate policy. It is in the interest of those countries to establish national emission trading systems (linked to the EU’s existing scheme), which would minimise the possible costs.

Most read

Private capital and financial innovation in Egypt’s clean energy transition

The Benban Solar Park, Africa’s biggest photovoltaic power station, demonstrates Egypt’s ability to attract foreign investment, implement complex infrastructure projects and align its energy goals with environmental sustainability. As this column explains, the next stage of the country’s clean energy transition requires a diversified financial ecosystem, together with committed and well-coordinated policy support.

The rising threat of water and food insecurity in MENA

The Middle East and North Africa is rapidly becoming the global epicentre of water and food insecurity. Drawing on regional evidence and global comparisons, this column identifies urgent priorities and offers policy strategies to strengthen resilience in this particularly climate-stressed part of the world before the crisis deepens further. The tools exist: what is needed is the political will and coordinated action to use them.

Sanctions and the shrinking size of Iran’s middle class

International sanctions imposed on Iran from 2012 have reduced the size of the country’s middle class, according to new research summarised in this column. The findings highlight the profound social consequences of economic pressure, not least given the crucial role of that segment of society for national innovation, growth and stability. The study underscores the need for policies to safeguard the civilian population in countries targeted by sanctions.

Artificial intelligence and the renewable energy transition in MENA

Artificial intelligence has the potential to bridge the gap between abundant natural resources and the pressing need for reliable, sustainable power in the Middle East and North Africa. This column outlines the constraints and proposes policies that can address the challenges of variability of renewable resources and stress on power grids, and support the transformation of ‘sunlight’ to ‘smart power’.

Green jobs for MENA in the age of AI: crafting a sustainable labour market

Arab economies face a dual transformation: the decarbonisation imperative driven by climate change; and the rapid digitalisation brought by artificial intelligence. This column argues that by strategically managing the green-AI nexus, policy-makers in the region can position their countries not merely as followers adapting to global mandates but as leaders in sustainable innovation.

MENA integration into global value chains and sustainable development

Despite the geopolitical advantages, abundant natural resources and young populations of many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, they remain on the periphery of global value chains, the international networks of production and service activities that now dominate the world economy. This column explains the positive impact of integration into GVCs on exports and employment; its role in technology transfer and capacity upgrading; and the structural barriers that constrain the region’s involvement. Greater GVC participation can help to deliver structural transformation and sustainable development.

Egypt’s forgotten democratisation: a challenge to modern myths about MENA

A widely held narrative asserts that countries in the Middle East are inevitably authoritarian. This column reports new research that tracks Egyptian parliamentarians since 1824 to reveal that the region’s struggle with democracy is not in fact about cultural incompatibility: it’s about colonialism disrupting home-grown democratic movements and elite conflicts being resolved through disenfranchisement rather than power-sharing.




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