The effects of major earthquakes on the labor market: evidence from Turkey
International Journal of Social Economics
ISSN: 0306-8293
Article publication date: 23 December 2022
Issue publication date: 28 April 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of earthquakes on the labor market. The authors try to estimate the impact of two major earthquakes (Izmir and Elazig) in Turkey.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to analyze the effects of devastating earthquakes in the nearby regions of the province where the earthquake took place, on the labor market, monthly and annual data from the TUIK and ISKUR database will be used. For this purpose, the authors consider the earthquake a natural experiment and employ a Synthetic Control Method (SCM). In addition, the analysis will be carried out using seasonally adjusted data, taking into account the seasonal effects of the monthly data to be used in the study.
Findings
The results show that the impact varies based on the labor market structure of the regions. While the earthquake positively affects the labor market of agriculture-oriented regions, it harms the labor market of nonagricultural-oriented regions.
Research limitations/implications
A major limitation of the study is that we cannot fully separate the impact of Covid-19 from our estimate. The authors believe that Covid-19 overestimates the negative impact of earthquakes on the labor market.
Social implications
Earthquakes have adverse effects on the labor market. The estimation of the earthquake-related costs may provide a useful guide on policy planning and government incentives.
Originality/value
The originality of the study lies in the fact that this is the first study to evaluate how the dynamics of the labor market has changed as a result of the earthquakes that have taken place in Turkey, within the framework of causality.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0568
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work is funded by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) under project number 121K619. This work was sponsored by the Economic Research Forum (ERF) and has benefited from both financial and intellectual support. The views expressed in this work are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed to ERF, its Board of Trustees or donors.
Citation
Dolu, A. and İkizler, H. (2023), "The effects of major earthquakes on the labor market: evidence from Turkey", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 50 No. 5, pp. 662-674. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0568
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited