Browsing by Author "Pekkurnaz, Didem"

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Causal Effect of Obesity on the Probability of Employment in Women in Turkey
(ECONOMICS & HUMAN BIOLOGY, 2023) Pekkurnaz, Didem
This study aims to investigate the causal effect of obesity on the employment probability of women in Turkey via the instrumental variable approach by using data from the 2018 Turkey and Demographic Health Survey. Obesity prevalence in the area of living and the overweight status of the oldest child, which are the most common types of instruments seen in the literature, are used as instruments. Consistent with the OLS result, the 2SLS estimate indicates that obese women are statistically significantly less likely to be employed when the overweight status of the child is used as an instrument. On the other hand, the statistically significant effect of obesity disappears when the area level obesity prevalence is used as the instrument. In addition, obesity in women decreases the likelihood of employment in the services sector and full-time jobs and employment with social security. Although the results of this study do not indicate the source of the effect found, the presence of a causal relationship for women should not be ignored when the economic burden of obesity for Turkey is considered.
Determinants of Unmet Need For Family Planning: Evidence From The 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey
(JOURNAL OF BIOSOCIAL SCIENCE, 2024) Okem, Zeynep Guldem; Pekkurnaz, Didem
Unmet need for family planning is a valuable concept to indicate the discrepancy between women's fertility preferences and contraceptive use. Unmet need may lead to unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. These may result in health deterioration and reduced employment opportunities for women. The 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey report indicated that the estimated unmet need for family planning doubled from 2013 to 2018, returning to the high levels of the late 1990s. Considering this unfavourable change, this study aims to investigate the determinants of unmet need for family planning among married women of reproductive age in Turkey by using the 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey data. Logit model estimations revealed that women who were at older ages, more educated, wealthier, and had more than one child were less likely to have unmet need for family planning. Employment statuses of women and their spouses and place of residence were significantly associated with unmet need. Results emphasised that training and counselling to enhance the use of family planning methods should effectively target young, less educated, and poor women.
Does quality matter in determining child care prices? Evidence from private child care provision in Turkey
(2021) Pekkurnaz, Didem; Aran, Meltem A.; Aktakke, Nazli
Child care prices are expected to reflect the quality of provision. However, in contexts where there are high information asymmetries between the users of the services and providers, we may expect this link between quality and prices to be weaker. Turkey is selected for the study as it has a highly regulated child care sector where the costs of accreditation and initial setup are high. However, there is very little on-going supervision and no information provided to users on the quality or ranking of these services. This paper investigates the role of quality in determining private child care prices using a unique provider-level data set collected in five provinces of Turkey. Regression results show that prices are mainly driven by infrastructure quality while human resources and curriculum and materials quality scores that are more likely to have a strong bearing on child development do not have a significant impact on prices.
Employment Status and Contraceptive Choices of Women With Young Children in Turkey
(2019) Pekkurnaz, Didem
The childcare burden is one of the main reasons behind the lower employment rate of women in Turkey, and the opportunity cost of childbearing is high for employed women (especially for those in higher-paid jobs). Since using an effective birth control method allows women to control the timing of reproduction, there may be differences in contraception behavior between employed women and women not working for pay. This study analyzes the impact of employment status of women with young children on their contraception behavior using data from the 2013 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS). Results show that employed women, including family workers, are more likely to choose a modern method over a traditional one, particularly those working as government employees. Results also indicate that the likelihood of employment can be enhanced by increasing the share of public provision of childcare and preschool services.
Understanding women's provider choice for induced abortion in Turkey
(2021) Pekkurnaz, Didem; Cakar, Mehmet; 34391598
In Turkey, women gained free access to induced abortion from public facilities through the legalization of abortion in 1983. However, due to unmet need and abortion stigma, women use predominantly private services. The political discourse on anti-abortion in the past decade has triggered a diminishing trend in public provision. This runs against both the 1983 Law and the healthcare reforms initiated in 2003, which aimed at universal access to health services. This study investigates the socioeconomic characteristics of women affecting the utilization of public services for induced abortion. Using "Turkey Demographic and Health Survey 2013", the results of Probit models indicate that women who were young, unmarried, wealthier and whose abortion decisions were made by themselves or their spouses were less likely to choose the public services for induced abortion. Regional differences in the utilization of public sector were also observed. Findings indicate a need to ensure and widen women's access to abortion nationwide; both at the hospital and outpatient level. Health education programs including family planning should give special emphasis to young, single and socioeconomically disadvantaged women who are more prone to apply for unsafe abortion when access to public and/or private sector is limited. A transparent referral system should be designed to timely direct women to abortion services. 0 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.