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Ph. D. in Economics (in English)

Why Economics Ph.D. at Ibn Haldun University?

The scope of modern economic theory covers a wide range, including analyzing the economic behavior of individuals, firms, countries, and international institutions. With the fast developments in the information technology sector beginning in the 1990s, the economic behavior of all agents has become a phenomenon that needs to be analyzed at the global level. Despite a resurrection of the impact of nationalist views on the economic behavior of countries, globalization is still an important ongoing issue. Thus, the analysis of the developments in the goods, labor, and financial markets, as well as the interaction among them, from a scientific point of view, is essential for developing policies at the country or global level.

The Ph.D. program at Ibn Haldun University invites students from different educational backgrounds. It aims to build skills that will help them understand and analyze economic issues and bring policy solutions to them. During the coursework period, students can choose from a wide range of elective courses according to their areas of interest besides the compulsory economics courses. The dissertation period following the coursework will allow them to apply their knowledge to contemporary issues in the field of economics from a theoretical and practical point of view. English is the language of Ph.D. education in economics, giving students prestigious job opportunities in Turkey and across the globe.

Acting Head of The Department:

Prof. Muhittin Kaplan

The mission of the Program:

In line with the vision of Ibn Haldun University, the mission of the economics Ph.D. program is to train individuals and equip them with skills that will meet the needs of academia, the private sector, and policy institutions across the globe. In addition, the Ph.D. program aims to enhance economics research and obtain valuable academic? Output at the national and international level, and educate economists who can analyze national or global economic issues and develop solutions.

Targets:

The target of the program is to train individuals who,

  • can apply the concepts and theories of economics effectively to contemporary problems and bring solutions to these issues.
  • is strongly preferred at prestigious positions in academia, private and public sector, and international institutions due to the valuable knowledge accumulated, and the expertise gained with elective courses and the dissertation work
  • have a broad view of economics and solid analytical capabilities
  • can contribute to the progress of different tasks at work, take influential roles in teamwork, and have leadership skills.

Visit the curriculum page.

Course Contents

ECON 600 Seminar

This graduate-level course provides guided reading, research, expert discussions, and workshops in economics. The system heavily relies on the invited speakers' presenting their academic work in the seminar sessions.

ECON 601 Advanced Research Methods

In this course, students will be able to distinguish between the use of these techniques and models and the ability to interpret the results obtained by considering advanced research methods, analysis techniques, and models used in economics. In this direction, topics such as classical linear regression, generalized least squares (GLS) estimation, instrumental variable (IV) estimation, maximum likelihood (ML) estimation, and asymptotic test procedure will be investigated, and the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation, nonlinear least squares (NLS) estimation; basic concepts of asymptotic theory; asymptotics for integrated processes; model selection; AIC, SBC; trend- and difference-stationary time series models; tools for unit root econometrics will be analyzed.

ECON 602 Advanced Macroeconomics

This course will start with defining the main topics of macroeconomics within the framework of different economic schools and then continue with endogenous growth models such as Solow. Afterward, such issues as dynamic aggregate demand and aggregate supply, IS-LM models, monetary and fiscal policies, investment and consumption decisions, and macroeconomic decisions in open economies will be explained in more detail in terms of the functioning of money and foreign exchange markets and methods of struggling against inflation in an open economy.

ECON 603 Advanced Microeconomics

This course aims to provide students the ability to command the basic concepts, theories, and applications of microeconomics and to apply this knowledge to practical problems. For this purpose, first of all, consumer theories, demand theory, production theory, and uncertainty will be discussed under the topic of individual decisions. Next, the course will examine issues such as information asymmetry, reverse selection, and the principal-agent problems that enable the markets to operate effectively. Finally, continuing with game theory, this course will end with an analysis of Pareto optimality, Walrasian equilibrium, and general equilibrium.

ECON 604 Advanced Econometrics

Theoretical and practical studies on basic econometric tests, models, and techniques will be carried out in this course to acquire advanced econometric analysis skills. In this context; Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA) models and stationarity; estimation of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models; residual-based tests for cointegration; Estimation of  Vector Autoregressive (VAR) models will be worked on. Additionally, the topics such as modeling discrete choice; Least Squares Dummy Variable approach and discrete choice methods in pane data; limited dependent variable models; parametric and nonparametric duration and survival analysis; measurement errors in panel data models will be examined.

Elective Courses

ECON 510 International Economics

In this course, students will learn about the mechanism of international economic and commercial activities, the main reasons for the emergence of these relations, and the main theories trying to explain these relations. It will also touch upon the economic policies developed to make international financial activities and trade more effective and to develop them, the factors that determine foreign exchange prices, the essential components of balance-of-payments balance, the factors determining foreign trade, basic shapes and determinants of capital flows between countries and how globalization affects the international economy.

ECON 511 Innovation Economics

This course mainly analyzes the relationship between economic development and knowledge-based economic structure and the impact of innovation on competitiveness. Examples from individuals, companies, and countries examine creativity's role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, current applications and case studies are addressed using global data clusters. Finally, the theoretical models of research and development, intellectual property rights, and patent economics are passed on to the students through the innovation indicators.

ECON 512 Game Theory

Based on the game theory frequently used in economic theory applications, this course will provide basic information about games under different assumptions and their equilibrium conditions. In this context, regular and consecutive games in which there is no cooperation between the participants will be explained based on whether participants have complete and perfect knowledge of the competitions and conditions of the game. Examples will address how these games are used in economic theory and applications. Other topics, such as experimental game theory and Markov-perfect equilibrium, will also be discussed.

ECON 513 Monetary Economics

In this course, we will focus primarily on the fundamental functions of money in an economy and the factors that affect money demand. Then, the issues such as money supply, the essential components of monetary policy, the role of central banks in the economy, and the process of determining policy and market interest rates will be discussed. Next, different concepts and models of the monetary transmission mechanisms used to explain the actual economic effect of monetary policy will be presented, and the problems, such as how to determine the optimal institutional and operational monetary policy, will be addressed. Additionally, some disruptions that may arise in financial markets and macro-financial links will be touched upon.

ECON 514 Industrial Economics

This course will be based on possible disruptions to the market. It will use different optimization and game theory models to model other market structures outside the entire competition market, such as monopoly, oligopoly, and card, as well as models of various price and price strategies of companies operating in such market structures. Finally, antitrust regimes and competition policies to prevent social welfare losses from such market structures will be studied globally.

ECON 515 Energy Economics

This course will examine the theoretical and empirical approaches of primary energy sources such as oil, natural gas, coal, and electricity. The theoretical and practical practices of the processes in the spot and futures markets will be reviewed. Additionally, the impacts of energy and natural resources on economic development will be discussed.

ECON 516 Public Economics

The central theme of this course is the basic concepts of fiscal policy, finance policy applications, comparative analysis of the market economy with the public economy, and public goods. In addition, issues such as decision-making processes of public finance in the framework of models such as voting, contract and game theory, economic analysis of bureaucracy, local and central budgets, budgeting process, development of public expenditures, public incomes, and welfare will also be discussed.

ECON 517 Time Series Econometrics

This course addresses advanced qualitative forecasting methods, and different time series modeling approaches, regression analysis, and econometric modeling are explained. In the system's content, the characteristics of the time series will be emphasized, and the model selection will be taught to make the best guess for the structure of the given data. E-views and RATS software programs will be used during the coursework.

ECON 518 Panel Data and Cross-Section Models

In addition to the course on the analysis of time series, this course aims to develop different models for understanding the relations between economic variables. The course explains different approaches used in modeling panel data, problems encountered in estimating these models, and related econometric methods. In the study, applications will be made using STATA, a statistical software program.

ECON 519 Environmental Economics

Based on the mutual interaction between environment and economics, this course will discuss how economic operations should be regulated optimally to balance economic activities and other social objectives. Using general microeconomic theories and practices, this course has the central theme of optimizing economic efficiency and productivity with sustainable environmental policies.

ECON 520 Development Economics

This course will explain basic definitions, concepts, and theories about participatory development. In this framework, various indicators of economic development and growth will be addressed, as well as criticisms of different economic theories attempting to explain economic development, as well as criticisms of the concept and ideas of evolution. Finally, with essential information will discuss the structural transformations of economies, industrialization, agricultural change and environment, development policies, and market relations from an empirical point of view.

ECON 521 Transport Economics

The course aims to provide students interested in this area as a whole with the ability to make an economic analysis of the transportation sector and to understand the contributions of the transportation sector to economic development. The course also seeks to understand various analytical techniques of managerial economics that facilitate decision-making in production and costs, demand, pricing, investment, and government regulation and intervention in the transport sector. 

ECON 522 Real Estate and Urban Economics

This course aims to examine the economic activities in the real estate, construction, and building sectors from a theoretical point of view and to analyze urban economics. At the beginning of the course, economic models and applications for the housing sector and financing are covered, followed by the construction and operation economics of commercial real estate. This model of models and applications of real estate products in banking and capital markets is studied in detail, with simulations and calculations of some of these products. This course also focuses on the financing dimension of the issues such as intelligent urbanization, urban transformation, and green building and their impact on economic growth.

ECON 523 Islamic Economics and Finance

This course is an introduction to understanding Islamic economics and finance. The course aims to teach the main theories and practices of Islamic economics and finance using basic concepts. Starting from the origins and historical background of Islamic Economics and finance to understand the paradigm, this course then examines the Islamic rule system and financial instruments. In the central part of the course, Islamic capital markets and the banking sector are emphasized. This course also focuses on Turkey's experience and shows how Islamic economics and finance are positioned within the Turkish financial sector.

ECON 524 Economic Jurisprudence in Islam

This course is based on the claim that economic analysis methods are applied in law. In particular, it aims to examine the legal rules and legal institutions from the perspective of economic efficiency. It tries to guide rule-makers and judges by reviewing how much the legal order and practices such as property, law, compensation, peace, and jurisprudence overlap with the principle of efficiency of the economy.

ECON 525 Islam and Political Economy

This course discusses economic ideas and doctrines, namely how people perceive and make sense of the financial world around them. These discussions are handled with a comparative method, taking into account the perspectives of Eastern and Western civilizations. On the other hand, considering that ideas and doctrines are not independent of the environment in which they emerged, it also finds the discussion of the economic conditions in the time and place where ideas emerged, thus establishing a relationship with the history of economics.

ECON 527 Behavioral Economics and Finance

This course surveys the literature and relevant research incorporating psychological evidence into economics and finance. It introduces the theories developed by research into cognitive biases, individual emotions, and other psychological effects on decision-making. It also explores applications of these theories in economics and finance. This course will investigate various behavioral frames, biases, and heuristics, and some implications on the market and investors will be examined. In addition, discussing some of the more popular and accepted theories and academic papers on human behavior from psychology and decision-making, some prominent features of irrational behavior in the economy and financial markets will be characterized.

ECON 528 Labor Economics

This course aims to provide a theoretical and empirical examination of the labor market, addressing essential questions such as: How are wages determined? What is unemployment, and why do we observe it? What are the links between demographics and labor market outcomes? Is it worth investing in education? What is immigration's impact on wage earnings? Why does an informal labor market arise in economies? In addition, essential aspects of the US and Turkish labor markets will be discussed during the course.

ECON 545 Current Issues in the Turkish Economy 

In this course, using current economic data, the structural features of Turkey's economy are examined in depth while discussing the current economic issues. Economics and financial institutions are analyzed on the overall functioning of Turkey's economy, and major companies are concerned with business life in Turkey. Economic growth, unemployment, and international trade are also focused on significant economic issues such as privatization policies; in this course, banking and capital markets out of the current problems of the financial sector in Turkey are analyzed.

ECON 546 Economic History of Modern Turkey

As discussed during the historical development of Turkey's economy, the transition to modernity is a structural and institutional change analysis. In this course, economic politics of the last period of the Ottoman Empire, growth to and after the Republic, post-Great Depression, post-Second World War developments, import substitution politics, and liberal politics after 1980 are examined.

ECON 550 Selected Issues in Economics

This course aims to develop the knowledge and competence of the participants on selected topics related to the economy.

EFIN 518 Islamic Finance

In this course, the main principles and contract types of Islamic finance, which have grown remarkably in recent years, will be covered by referring to various financial sectors and institutions compared to conventional finance. The main aim of the course is to increase the participants' awareness of Islamic finance as an alternative financing model for Turkey and the World. The system will include contract types such as Musharakah, Ijarah, Musharabah, Musharakah, Salam, and Istisna, together with their usage, management, and their risks. Furthermore, Islamic capital market instruments and institutions such as Sukuk and Islamic investment funds will be explained. Finally, the challenges to the further development of Islamic finance will also be discussed.

econ@ihu.edu.tr

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