Unemployment Hysteresis by Gender and Education Level in Global Crisis: Evidence from Fourier Stationarity Anaysis for Turkey

Unemployment rates in Turkey in the 2000s are in double digits as a result of economic fluctuations and crises. Crises can have permanent effects on unemployment rates. However, it is possible to reduce unemployment with effective economic policies. It is important to carry out detailed studies dealing with different dimensions of unemployment in order to achieve this efficiency. In this study the changes occurring in the unemployment rates by gender and education level were investigated in Turkey due to the 2008 global crisis. Regarding men and women, eight different education levels have been considered. Whether there is a permanent increase in the unemployment series was analyzed with the Fourier KPSS stationarity test developed by Becker, Enders and Lee (2006). Monthly unemployment rates between 2005-2014, which covered the global crisis, were used as data. According to the findings, after the crisis, there is a greater increase in the unemployment rate in women's unemployment series than in men at different levels of education. While only high school equivalent vocational school graduates series have unemployment hysteresis in males, the unemployment series of women who are illiterate, elementary school graduates, secondary or equivalent vocational school graduates and general high school graduates show hysteresis effect.