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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Labour market effects of robots: evidence from Turkey

Evidence from developed countries on the impact of automation on labour markets suggests that there can be negative effects on manufacturing jobs, but also mechanisms for workers to move into the services sector. But this narrative may not apply in developing economies. This column reports new evidence from Turkey on the effects of robots on labour displacement and job reallocation.

Global value chains and domestic innovation: evidence from MENA firms

Global interlinkages play a significant role in enhancing innovation by firms in developing countries. In particular, as this column explains, participation in global value chains fosters a variety of innovation activities. Since some countries in the Middle East and North Africa display a downward trend on measures of global innovation, facilitating the GVC participation of firms in the region is a prospective channel for stimulating underperforming innovation.

Food insecurity in Tunisia during and after the Covid-19 pandemic

Labour market instability, rising unemployment rates and soaring food prices due to Covid-19 are among the reasons for severe food insecurity across the world. This grim picture is evident in Tunisia, where the government continues to provide financial and food aid to vulnerable households after the pandemic. But as this column explains, the inadequacy of some public policies is another important factors causing food insecurity.

Sustaining entrepreneurship: lessons from Iran

Does entrepreneurial activity naturally return to long-term average levels after big economic disturbances? This column presents new evidence from Iran on trends in entrepreneurship among various categories of firm size, sector and location – and suggests policies that could be effective in promoting entrepreneurial activities.

Manufacturing firms in Egypt: trade participation and outcomes for workers

International trade can play a large and positive role in boosting economic growth, reducing poverty and making progress towards gender equality. These effects result in part from the extent to which trade is associated with favourable labour market outcomes. This column presents evidence of the effects of Egyptian manufacturing firms’ participation in exporting and importing on their workers’ productivity and average wages, and on women’s employment share.

Intimate partner violence: the impact on women’s empowerment in Egypt

Although intimate partner violence is a well-documented and widely recognised problem, empirical research on its prevalence and impact is scarce in developing countries, including those in the Middle East and North Africa. This column reports evidence from a study of intra-household disparities in Egypt, taking account of attitudes toward gender roles, women’s ownership of assets, and the domestic violence that wives may experience from their husbands.

Do capital inflows cause industrialisation or de-industrialisation?

There is a clear appeal for emerging and developing economies, including those in MENA, to finance investment in manufacturing industry at home with capital inflows from overseas. But as the evidence reported in this column indicates, this is a potentially risky strategy: rather than promoting industrialisation, capital flows can actually lead to lower manufacturing value added and/or a reallocation of resources towards industries with lower technology intensity.

Financial constraints on small firms’ growth: pandemic lessons from Iran

How does access to finance affect the growth of small businesses? This column presents new evidence from Iran before and during the Covid-19 pandemic – and lessons learned by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The economics of Israeli war aims and strategies

Israel’s response to last October’s Hamas attack has led to widespread death and destruction. This column outlines the impact thus far, including the effects on food scarcity, migration and the Palestinian economy in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Happiness in the Arab world: should we be concerned?

Several Arab countries have low rankings in the latest comparative assessment of average happiness across the world. But as this column explains, the average is not a reliable summary statistic when applied to ordinal data. The evidence from more robust analysis of socio-economic inequality in happiness suggests that policy-makers should be less concerned about happiness indicators than the core development objective of more equitable social conditions for citizens.