TITLE:
The Transformation of the Higher Education System in Turkey after 2002: A Game Theoretic Analysis
AUTHORS:
Zekeriya Tuzen, Caglar Yurtseven
KEYWORDS:
Higher Education, AK Parti, One-Period Game, Conservatism, Study Abroad
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.6 No.1,
February
16,
2016
ABSTRACT: The higher education system in Turkey suffered from
capacity problem during the 1980s and the 1990s. After the election in 2002, to
solve the problem, the Justice and Development Party governments have invested
in higher education through opening new universities, increasing the total
capacity in higher education, and sending more students abroad especially for
graduate studies. In this paper, noting the conservative structure of the
Justice and Development Party, we determine whether a dilemma exists between
these liberal practices and the party’s conservatism. By constructing a one-period
sequential game, we show that heavy investment in higher education by the
Justice and Development Party is not contradictory and, in fact, inevitable, as
long as it tries to maximize its vote in the short-medium run.