About Me
I’ve started Kent State University’s PhD program at the Political Science Dept in the Fall semester of 2003. I completed my course work by 2006, and passed both of my field exams (1st: Transnational Politics and Policy; 2nd: Public Policy and Administration) in August 2006. Currently, I am writing up my dissertation which is titled as "International Labor Migration from Rural Central Asia: the potential for development in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan." Based on my field research in several villages in these two countries as well as survey with labor migrants who work in Turkey's four cities I am trying to answer two sets of questions that remain unsettled in the literature: 1- How do potential migrants make their decisions about (a) whether to leave and (b) where to go if they do leave? 2- What determines whether remittances are used successfully to foster development in the home country?
In addition to my dissertation, I’ve been teaching political science courses at Political Science Department in the Kent State University.
And almost every Wednesday evening I am playing soccer with my Turkish friends to prove myself that I am still a little bit social and physical.
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Candidate Deparment of
Political Science, Kent State University, Kent–Ohio.
Major Field: Comparative Politics &Transnational Politics and Policy
Minor Field: Policy Analysis and
Administration
Dissertation Committee: Andrew
S. Barnes (chair), John Logue, Chris Banks, Kelly McMann
Dissertation Title: “International Labor Migration
from Rural Central Asia: the Potential for Development in Kyrgyzstan and
Uzbekistan.”
M.A. Deparment of International
Relations & Political History, Marmara University, Istanbul–Turkey, 1999,
Thesis Title: “The Azerbaijan’s Oil and Its Role on Regional Politics (in
Turkish).”
B.Sc. Deparment
of Political Scince & Public Administration,
Middle East Technical University, Ankara – Turkey, 1994.
ADDITIONAL TRAINING & ACADEMIC ACTIVITY
Research Fellow Social Research Center,
American University of Central Asia, Bishkek – Kyrgyzstan, September 2007-
January 2008.
Summer Research Lab Participant, Russian, East European, and
Eurasian Center,University of Illinois, Urbana
Champaign–Illinois, June–August 2007.
ICPSR Four Week Competitive Summer Workshop, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor–Michigan, June-July 2004.
Social Change Workshop, Institute for Humane Studies of George
Mason University, University of Virginia, Charlottesville–Virginia, June 2004.
PUBLICATION
Forthcoming (peer reviewed journal article): (with Murat Aslan) “An Empirical Application of the Short and Long Term
Effects of the Private Savings on Other Macroeconomic Variables in Turkey for
1975-2007 Period,” (written in Turkish, and titled as “Türkiye’de
1975-2007 Dönemine ait Uzun ve Kısa
Dönemde Özel Tasarrufların Diğer Makroekonomik Değişkenlerle
Olan İlişkisi Üzerine
Ampirik bir Uygulama”), Iktisat, Isletme ve Finans
Dergisi (Journal
of Economics, Business, and Finance).
Peer reviewed journal article: (with Murat Aslan & Abdullah Yalama) “The Dynamics of Real Wages and Productivity in Public and Private Sectors: An Empirical Investigation for 1963-2007 Period in Turkey,” Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 6(2), 2009, pp. 58-64.
Peer reviewed journal article: (with Murat Aslan) “ The Relationship between Public and Private Sector Wages in Turkey for 1963–2006 Period: An Empirical Analysis,” (published in Turkish, and titled as “Türkiye’de 1963–2006 Döneminde Kamu ve Özel Sektör Ücretleri Üzerine bir Ampirik Uygulama”), Osmangazi University Social Science Journal, No. 9(2), pp 23-46.
Peer reviewed journal article: (with Murat Aslan) “An Application of the Cost Disease Hypothesis on Public and Private Sector Wages in Turkey,” (published in Turkish, and titled as “Maliyet Hastalığı Hipotezi: Türkiye’de Kamu ve Özel Sektör Ücretleri Üzerine bir Uygulama”), Dumlupinar University Social Sciences Journal, No. 22, December 2008, pp 93-111.
Research report: “Labor Migration: The Potential for Development in Kyrgyzstan & Uzbekistan,” posted at the Social Research Center of the American University of Central Asia, May 2008, available at http://src.auca.kg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=446&Itemid=73
Journal article: “Labor Migration and its Potential Consequences for Central Asia, Central Asia and Caucasus Analyst, April 16, 2008, available at http://www.cacianalyst.org/?q=node/4836
Research report: “International Labor Migration from Rural Communities and Its Impact on the Development in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan,” posted at the Social Research Center of the American University of Central Asia, March 2008, available at http://src.auca.kg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=310&Itemid=54
Research report: “Turkish Economics and Public Finance under the Globalization and Localization Axises,” posted (written in Turkish, and titled as “Kuresellesme ve Lokallesme Ekseninde Turk Ekonomisi ve Maliyesi”), posted at the Annual Public Finance Symposioum website, May 2007, available at http://www.sdu.edu.tr/sempozyum/2006/maliye/PDF/aslan_kursad_murat.pdf
Book review: Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenge of Truth Commissions by Priscilla B. Hayner. New York: Taylor & Francis Group, 2002, in Journal of Peace Research, May 2004 (41).
Contact me via e-mail: kaslan1@kent.edu, kursadaslan@gmail.com