Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Oytun Meçik

Author

Oytun Meçik
Associate Professor, Faculty of Administrative and Economic Sciences, Department of Economics, Eskişehir Osmangazi University

Oytun Meçik was born in Eskişehir/Turkey in 1985. He graduated from Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Department of Economics in 2008. In the same year, he began his academic career as a Research Assistant at Uşak University, Department of Economics and he completed his graduate degree at Uşak University in 2010. Then, he completed his Ph.D. studies at Anadolu University, Department of Economics in 2014. He has been working at Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Administrative and Economic Sciences, Department of Economics since 2015. Meçik became an associate professor in 2017. Meçik’s main research fields of study, labor market, social and economics networks, and structural transformations. Meçik is currently researching the effects of education-job mismatch, industrial transformation, and computerization in the labor market. He has recently prepared "Analysis of the Local Economic Development of Eskişehir and Eskişehir's Labour Market Analysis" as part of ILO's Promoting Decent Work Opportunities for Non-Syrian Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Turkey project. He has also editorial experiences in various journals, and he is a member of the Turkish Economic Association.

Content by this Author

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.

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Empowering Egypt’s young people for the future of work

Egypt’s most urgent priority is creating more and better jobs for its growing youth population. This column reports on the first Development Dialogue, an ERF–World Bank joint initiative, which brought together students, scholars, policy-makers and private sector leaders at Cairo University to confront the country’s labour market challenge. The conversation explored why youth inclusion matters, what the data show and how dialogue and the forthcoming Country Economic Memorandum can inform practical pathways to accelerate job creation.

Preparing youth for the workforce of the future

As economies undergo rapid digital and green transformations, young people face a growing mismatch between their skills and what the modern labour market needs. This column argues that enabling youth to compete in the workforce of the future requires systemic reforms in education, skills formation and labour market institutions, especially in developing economies.

Connectivity and conflict: understanding the risks of inequality in the Middle East

While high inequality does not always lead to conflict, new research reported in this column shows that widespread internet access acts as a catalyst, transforming economic grievances into political instability. For policy-makers in the Middle East and North Africa, this means that as digital connectivity expands, the security costs of ignoring economic disparities rise dramatically. The combination of idle youth, high inequality and high-speed internet is a volatile mix.

The political economy of stalled structural reforms in MENA

There is a persistent pattern to the structural reforms that are required to underpin economic progress in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa: ambitious strategies are announced and partially implemented, but ultimately they are diluted or reversed. This column argues that the repeated stalling of reform is not primarily a failure of economic design. Rather, it reflects deep-seated political economy constraints rooted in rent dependence, elite bargaining and weak institutional credibility. Without addressing these underlying dynamics, reform efforts are likely to remain symbolic rather than transformative.

Closing the gender gap in political participation in MENA

Women across the Middle East and North Africa participate less than men in politics – not only in political parties and elections, but also in petitions, boycotts, protests and strikes. This column reports evidence from ten countries showing that differences in education, employment and political attitudes explain part of this disparity, yet a significant gender gap remains.




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