Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Mehmet Tosun

Author

Mehmet Tosun
Professor, University of Nevada, Reno

Dr. Tosun is the Barbara Smith Campbell Distinguished Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). He is also a Professor of Economics and the Director of International Programs in the College of Business. He is a research fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), an affiliate research fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, a research fellow at the Economic Research Forum (ERF) for Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey, and a fellow at the Global Labor Organization (GLO). He is an Associate Editor of Socio-Economic Planning Sciences. He is on the journal editorial board of Migration Letters and the journal program committee of Przeglad Organizacji (Organization Review) in Poland. He also serves on the board of the Reno Philharmonic Association and the Ozmen Institute for Global Studies at UNR. Dr. Tosun received his Ph.D. in Economics from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. His research interests and expertise include public finance (particularly tax policy), regional economics, and economics of population and demography. He has published in such journals as the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Oxford Economics Papers, National Tax Journal, Economics Letters, International Tax and Public Finance, Journal of Regional Science, and Regional Science and Urban Economics. He has done consulting for a number of national and international agencies, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Dr. Tosun received a number of awards including the Graduate Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Business in 2019, the Global Engagement Award from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2018, the Dean’s Research Professorship Award in 2013, the Best Researcher of the Year Award from Beta Gamma Sigma (an international business honor society) in 2009, and the Middle East Economic Association’s Ibn Khaldun Prize in 2005. He was also the local organizer of the 72nd Annual Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF) which was held in Lake Tahoe in 2016, and the Anniversary Chair of the National Tax Association's 100th Anniversary Conference in 2007.

Content by this Author

Taxation in MENA: composition, trends and policy options

Governments in the Middle East and North Africa face great uncertainty in estimating the ramifications of the pandemic for their tax revenues in the coming years. Using both the most recent available data and historic data from the 2008 global recession, this column analyses the impact that Covid-19 may have on taxation in the region and outlines options for tax policy reform.

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EU climate policy: potential effects on the exports of Arab countries

The carbon border adjustment mechanism aims to ensure that Europe’s green objectives are not undermined by the relocation of production to parts of the world with less ambitious climate policies – but it could impose substantial costs on developing countries that export to the European Union. This column examines the potential impact on exporters in the Arab world – and outlines possible policy responses that could mitigate the economic damage.

Financial development, corruption and informality in MENA

Reducing the extent of informality in the Middle East and North Africa would help to promote economic growth. This column reports evidence on how corruption and financial development influence the size of the informal economy in countries across the region. The efficiency of the financial sector in MENA economies reduces the corruption incentive for firms to seek to join and stay in the formal sector.

Green hydrogen production and exports: could MENA countries lead the way?

The Arab region stands at the threshold of a transformative opportunity to become a global leader in green hydrogen production and exports. But as this column explains, achieving this potential will require substantial investments, robust policy frameworks and a commitment to technological innovation.

Climate change threats and how the Arab countries should respond

The Arab region is highly vulnerable to extreme events caused by climate change. This column outlines the threats and explores what can be done to ward off disaster, not least moving away from the extraction of fossil fuels and taking advantage of the opportunities in renewable energy generation. This would both mitigate the potential for further environmental damage and act as a catalyst for more and better jobs, higher incomes and improved social outcomes.

Freedom: the missing piece in analysis of multidimensional wellbeing

Political philosophy has long emphasised the importance of freedom in shaping a meaningful life, yet it is consistently overlooked in assessments of human wellbeing across multiple dimensions. This column focuses on the freedom to express opinions, noting that it is shaped by both formal laws and informal social dynamics, fluctuating with the changing cultural context, particularly in the age of social media. Data on public opinion in Arab countries over the past decade are revealing about how this key freedom is perceived.

Child stunting in Tunisia: an alarming rise

Child stunting in Tunisia seemed to have fallen significantly over the past two decades. But as this column reports, new analysis indicates that the positive trend has now gone dramatically into reverse. Indeed, the evidence is unequivocal: the nutritional health of the country’s youngest citizens is rapidly deteriorating and requires immediate and decisive action.

Exchange rate undervaluation: the impact on participation in world trade

Can currency undervaluation influence participation in world trade through global value chains (GVC)? This column reports new evidence on the positive impact of an undervalued real exchange rate on the involvement of a country’s firms in GVCs. Undervaluation acts as an economy-wide industrial policy, supporting the competitiveness of national exports in foreign markets vis-à-vis those of other countries.

New horizons for economic transformation in the GCC countries

The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have historically relied on hydrocarbons for economic growth. As this column explains ahead of a high-level ERF policy seminar in Dubai, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain and robotics – what some call the fourth industrial revolution – present a unique opportunity for the region to reduce its dependence on oil and make the transition to a knowledge-based economy.

Shifting public trust in governments across the Arab world

The Arab Spring, which began over a decade ago, was driven by popular distrust in governments of the region. The column reports on how public trust has shifted since then, drawing on survey data collected soon after the uprising and ten years later. The findings reveal a dynamic and often fragile landscape of trust in Arab governments from the early 2010s to the early 2020s. Growing distrust across many countries should raise concerns about future political and social instability.

Corruption in Iran: the role of oil rents

How do fluctuations in oil rents influence levels of corruption in Iran? This column reports the findings of new research, which examines the impact of increases in the country’s oil revenues on corruption, including the mechanisms through which the effects occur – higher inflation, greater public spending on the military and the weakness of democratic institutions.




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