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The direction of the causality relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and economic growth is a highly controversial issue in the literature. There are two basic approaches advocating different causal directions between FDI and growth, which are called hypotheses of FDI-led Growth and Growth-led FDI. The aim of this study is to analyze the causality relationship between FDI and economic growth in RCEP countries and thus make a new contribution to the discussions in the relevant literature. In addition, the results of the study are expected to provide important implications for the policies to be designed for economic growth based on FDI flows to RCEP countries. Thus, by examining the direction of causality between FDI and economic growth in RCEP countries, we aim to provide a new contribution to related literature and make some implications for the policy design process of economic growth in the RCEP area.

We empirically examined the direction of a causal link between FDI and economic growth in the context of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RPEC) countries in order to test the hypothesis of FDI-led growth and Growth-led FDI. Accordingly, as our main variables of interest, we incorporated the inward foreign direct investment stock to gross domestic product ratio (FDI) and gross domestic product per capita (GDP). Hatemi-J (2012) asymmetric causality test has been employed in the investigation of the direction of causality between FDI and GDP over the period of 1980–2020. Thus, unlike most of the studies investigating the direction of causality between FDI and growth using the linear causality analysis method, our study performed a nonlinear causality analysis.

Empirical results reveal that the causal relationship between FDI and national income in RPEC countries is non-linear or asymmetric . The results of the symmetric causality test for both from FDI to national income and from national income to FDI are statistically insignificant for all countries. Therefore, this finding obtained from the study provided an important guide to the econometric methods to be used in other studies to be conducted in the same region in the future. Concerning the asymmetric causality relationship from FDI to growth, positive FDI shocks are an important cause of national income in most RCEP countries. However, the effect of negative FDI shocks on national income is quite weak compared to positive shocks. Regarding the asymmetric causality relationship from growth to FDI, positive national income shocks do not create a significant causal relationship with FDI. Similarly, the effects of negative national income shocks on FDI are statistically insignificant. Overall, asymmetric causality test results reveal that positive FDI shocks have an important causal impact on economic growth in most RCEP countries. Thus, the results of econometric analysis mostly support the argument that the FDI-led growth hypothesis rather than the Growth-led FDI hypothesis in RCEP countries. Accordingly, policy-makers in most of the RCEP countries should continue to provide more incentives and facilities to multinational companies in order to ensure constant economic growth.

Our study brings a significant difference in the econometric method used compared to most of the other studies in the literature. Existing empirical studies on the direction of causality between FDI and growth mostly use standard Granger-linear causality-type tests to detect the direction of causality among FDI and growth. Unlike most of the studies in the literature, our study adopted a different methodological approach, namely the Hatemi J test to detect the non-linear causality between FDI and economic growth in RCEP countries. Therefore, this paper made a new methodological contribution significantly to the literature focusing on the causal relationship between FDI and economic growth by using a non-linear causality method rather than a linear causality one.

This study aims to elucidate the relationship between nutritional status and various biochemical parameters and migraine symptoms.

The disability of individuals aged 19–64 years old with episodic migraine (n = 80, female n = 64, male n = 16) was assessed with the Migraine Disability Assessment Scale, and migraine severity was evaluated with the visual analog scale. The metabolic risks of individuals were determined by analyzing body composition, various biochemical parameters and anthropometric measurements. Nutrients and energy intake levels were measured using the food consumption recording form.

Body muscle mass percentage was correlated directly with migraine severity and inversely with the attack duration (r = 0.26, p = 0.01 and r = −0.29, p = 0.007, respectively). High bone mass was associated with low attack frequency (r = −0.23, p = 0.03), while high body fat percentage was associated with long attack duration (r = 0.28, p = 0.009). A significant direct correlation was found between total cholesterol level and migraine severity and attack duration (r = 0.25, p = 0.02) and between triglyceride level and attack duration (r = 0.26, p = 0.01). There was a direct correlation between serum thyroxine (T4) level and migraine attack severity (r = 0.23, p = 0.03). There was a significant direct correlation between energy and carbohydrate intake and migraine severity (r = 0.26, p = 0.02 and r = 0.30, p = 0.009, respectively), protein and vitamin B2 intake and attack frequency (r = 0.24, p = 0.03 and r = 0.23, p = 0.04, respectively) and an inverse correlation between monounsaturated fatty acid, fiber and vitamin C intake and migraine severity score (r = −0.35, p = 0.002; r = −0.25, p = 0.02; and r = −0.41, p = 0.001, respectively).

The findings confirm that nutritional status, body composition and some biochemical parameters can affect the course of migraine.

While the studies on the use of smart robots in the production, which is known as the Industry 4.0 revolution, continue rapidly, the competition race is in the right proportion with this and businesses that do not want to fall behind the age have to follow the developments in Industry 4.0 and adapt. This chapter examines the Industry 4.0 revolution and its effect on accounting. Incorrect information from one of the business departments affects the entire system. Especially in the accounting department, which records the financial movements of the business and reports the results of them, and which is effective in making decisions that affect the whole business based on these results, the use of smart systems helps to reduce human-made mistakes and the system to act faster while also the systems used in traditional accounting are abandoned. However, brain power is still required, which must analyze the results. While the revolution is still developing, there are a lot of theories about the future. The expected outcome of these is that with the revolution, the need for brain power to analyze system outputs will increase, even if the need for human labour in the industry decreases. In this context, especially those who perform the accounting profession must constantly renew themselves.

This paper aims to elaborate on the characteristics of vernacular architecture, particularly the architecture of the Turkish eastern Black Sea region, through a case study in the area; and to attract the attention of architects and researchers on the unique characters of the region. Another aim of the paper is to examine the contribution of vernacular architecture to sustainability through its design methods and principles, which have been developed throughout centuries.

This paper presents a single case study on the architecture of the Turkish eastern Black Sea region through 14 unique samples from Senoz (Büyükdere) Valley. The case study is preceded by theoretical research on vernacular architecture, its characteristics and its contribution to sustainable architecture.

The case study carried out in the Senoz Valley revealed that the region's vernacular architecture is still living. However, it has lost its importance in the past. Outcomes of the case study indicate that the unique character of the architecture in the valley needs to be protected and sustained, so that future generations can also benefit from its special design features.

Senoz Valley is a settlement located near the city of Rize in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. Vernacular architecture reflects the characteristics of the region and contains unique features in construction and planning. According to these special features, the architecture of Senoz valley deserves a place in the literature of vernacular architecture.

This chapter investigates the origins of cross-sectoral collaboration by exploring when and why policy networks form within the Turkish health sector – a least likely case for network formation. The analysis presented here draws on information collected from a number of official documents, semi-structured interviews with professional experts, and two multi-stakeholder meetings. Timewise, networks entered the policy jargon during the introduction of the Health Transformation Program in 2003. Yet, the years between 2011 and 2015 were ground-breaking in producing concrete cross-sectoral collaborative instruments of policy making. The findings of the analysis reveal that policy networks form as a result of central government’s choice to devolve responsibility and expand the policy space with new issues and actors. Moreover, policy networks emerge not only during the times of policy change which has a reactionary, abrupt, and nature but also during the times of policy stability and legitimacy. These contextual factors are crucial in maintaining an atmosphere of trust among stakeholders, particularly between state and non-state actors. The refugee crisis and spreading securitization discourse in the post-2015 period explain the shifting policy and political agenda leading to public sector retrenchment from cross-sectoral projects within the field of health. This chapter intends to contribute to the literature of comparative public policy by examining the link between policy networks and policy change in addition to adding to the debates on network governance by exploring the processes of network formation. Finally, this chapter contributes to Turkish studies by examining the process of network formation within the Turkish health sector.

The main purpose of this research is to examine the influence of macroeconomic stability on economic growth of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries.

Using panel data of 1991–2020, fixed effect regression analysis, pooled ordinary least squares and generalized method of moments techniques have been conducted to demonstrate whether macroeconomic stability contributes to economic growth. Moreover, cross-sectional dependency test, unit root test, correlation analysis and granger causality tests have been run.

Robust findings indicate that inflation has negative impacts on economic growth which indicates that lower level of macroeconomic instability promotes countries’ economic growth. This study also observed that foreign direct investment, domestic credit delivered to private sector, currency exchange and institutional difference across countries are affirmatively connected while labor force is negatively associated with economic growth.

Empirical findings of this study signify that macroeconomic stability have significant effects on economic growth. Findings of this study have superior contributions for the policy makers to achieve sustainable economic growth.

Fire degradation is an extremely important risk that threatens timber structures. It is therefore normal that timber design codes include provisions for the design and verification of structures under fire loading. Eurocode 5 is no exception to this, but the simplified methods presented in the code show some inconsistencies, and the advanced method is not practical to use for design purposes. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have the ability to model complex problems and have been used in a variety of construction engineering problems. They can learn from a subset of data, and then they can be used to predict the results for other input parameters. The purpose of this study is to present the possibility of the use of ANNs for the prediction of temperatures in rectangular timber cross sections, under fire exposure.

In this work, a multilayer feedforward ANN has been trained to predict the temperatures within a timber cross section, using as input the size of the cross section, the timber density, the time of exposure and the coordinates of the point within the cross section.

The results obtained clearly indicate that ANN can be used to predict the temperatures in a timber cross section subjected to fire.

ANNs have not been used for the prediction of temperatures in timber cross sections. The use of ANN makes the temperature prediction under a standard fire loading in a cross section extremely easy to implement in any code. These results can be used to calculate the strength of the elements after fire.

This paper provides a quantitative assessment of the “asset ratio” rule defined in Turkey as part of measures taken to stimulate the economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The main objective of the new rule was to boost credit growth in the economy and provide lending for credit-constrained households and firms that are in need. A secondary aim was to shift the denomination structure of the deposits toward domestic currency. Hence, the paper focus particularly on how the policy affected the growth rate of loans and the share of domestic deposits relative to foreign ones among the commercial banks. The policy was also heavily criticized due to the possibility that it will subjugate the banking system to excessive risk. The paper explore this possible impact by measuring how much the policy affected the default risk allowances in the banking system.

The new policy required banks with deposits above a threshold level, i.e. large banks, to maintain a certain asset ratio. Banks with deposits below the threshold, i.e. small banks, were held exempt from it. The paper implement a difference-in difference methodology to assess the quantitative impacts of the asset ratio policy by taking large banks as the treatment group, and small banks as the control group.

Difference-in-difference estimation results suggest that the asset ratio policy resulted in a 9.6% rise in loans and an 8.4% rise in government securities. Deposits also increased, with no significant change in their composition. The policy initially generated a 7% increase in the credit risk allowances of banks in the treatment group, which vanished in the following periods. Based on all these, the paper argue that the policy was successful in providing liquidity to the economy without jeopardizing the financial stability.

The findings of this study show that asset ratio policy is effective in increasing credit growth in countries with limited policy space such as Turkey. While saying this, the importance of the robust and prudent structure of the banking system in the economy should be underlined. Otherwise, the policy may have an unintended consequence of raising systemic risk. The policy suggestions also apply to advanced countries where the monetary policy has reached a natural limit due to the zero lower bound (ZLB). The ZLB problem encouraged these countries to use quantitative easing schemes in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, just like the global financial crisis. However, it may take a long time to undo the effects of this policy on the balance sheets of central banks. In such cases, asset ratio policy can also be considered as an alternative tool for advanced economies notwithstanding the fact that the banking system should be prudent, well-capitalized and the country should have enough fiscal space. The main objective of the asset ratio policy was to help SMEs that were in urgent need of liquidity at the beginning of the crisis. The bank balance sheet data used in this paper does not contain information about the borrowers of the loans extended during the implementation of the policy. Analysis of this dimension using matched bank-firm level data will better demonstrate the success of the policy in achieving this goal. The paper address this as the main limitation of the paper and leave that analysis for future research.

This paper provides an important contribution to the literature by assessing a new unique policy whose objective is to stimulate loans and mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the economy. The policy in question is predicted to have effects on the asset and liability structure and risk exposure of the banking system in Turkey. The quantitative analysis in this study estimates these impacts and discusses the effectiveness of the new policy in providing a relief for firms and households in need. Whether or not the policy caused a disruption in the sound structure of the banking system in Turkey is another question addressed in the paper.

The purpose of this paper is to characterize monofloral and heterofloral honey samples (chestnut, lavandula, acacia and sunflower) from different regions of Turkey according to their physicochemical (moisture content, acidity, ash, sucrose, reducing sugar and hydroxymethylfurfural content) and biochemical properties to compare regional and species differences that are thought to contain different types of plant sources.

Physicochemical investigations were performed according to AOAC methods. Mineral analysis and volatile analysis were performed by using atomic absorption spectrometry and GC–MS, respectively. Antimicrobial activities of honey samples were evaluated based on disc diffusion method and minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values. The assays followed to determine total phenolic content and antioxidative and activities are spectrophotometric methods.

The obtained values of physicochemical parameters are among the values that can be accepted according to legal regulations. The most abundant mineral was potassium, which made up 81 per cent of the total mineral content, ranging between 165.7 and 301.6 mg/kg. A total of 87 different volatile components, some of which are highlighted in the literature to have antimicrobial and antioxidant effects, were detected. The maximum phenolic content, antioxidant activity against DPPH radical and ferric reducing ability were detected in the chestnut honeys. All tested honeys showed antimicrobial activity with MIC values between 6.25 and 50 µg/mL.

The present study has the feature of being a large study in terms of the region from where honey samples were selected and choice of analysis. The values obtained from physicochemical parameters reveal that the honeys from related region can be consumed with confidence. The biological properties found in honeys make them products of high added value and excellent quality.