About the Project

The project entitled “The Impact of Parental Education on Child Well-Being Indicators in Türkiye: An Analysis of the 1997 Compulsory Education Policy Using a Regression Discontinuity Design” is funded by the TÜBİTAK within the framework of the 1001 Scientific and Technological Research Projects Funding Program (No. 323K521).

Initiated in October 2024, the project has a duration of 22 months and a total budget of 1.282.255 TL and aims to conduct a causal analysis to understand the effects of parental education on children’s multidimensional development and well-being in Türkiye.

Host Institution and Research Team

The project is conducted within the Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at İzmir Bakırçay University.

The investigator of the project is Prof. Öznur Özdamar Giovanis.

The research team consists of academic researchers, an advisor, and project fellows, who collaboratively work on microdata management, econometric modeling, index development, and empirical analysis.

  • Prof. Gülden Bölük, Akdeniz University – (Researcher),
  • Assoc. Prof. Banu Beyaz Sipahi, Tarsus University – (Researcher),
  • Assoc. Prof. Eleftherios Giovanis, İzmir Bakırçay University – (Advisor),
  • Asst. Prof. Anıl Bölükoğlu, İzmir Bakırçay University – (Researcher),
  • Dr. Elyasa Aksoy, Aydın Adnan Menderes University – (Researcher),
  • Dr. Cansu Bahçeci Aydın Adnan Menderes University – (Former Researcher)
  • Süleyman Utku Oğuz, Mersin University – (PhD Student, Project Fellow)
  • Esra Aydın, İzmir Bakırçay University – (PhD Student, Former Project Fellow),
  • Seher Demiral, İzmir Bakırçay University – (MSc Student, Project Fellow)

 Contribution of the Project

This project:

  • Develops micro-data based indices of child development and well-being for Türkiye using the 2022 Türkiye Child Survey conducted by TURKSTAT.
  • Estimates the causal long-term intergenerational effects of the 1997 compulsory education reform through parental education.
  • Provides evidence-based analyses for policymakers.
  • Contributes novel findings to the academic literature.

A Micro-data Based Causal Analysis

The study treats the 1997 compulsory education reform as a natural policy experiment.

Using a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD), the analysis estimates the impact of increases in parental education on children’s development and well-being across multiple dimensions, including education, health, family conditions, safety-risk, and material deprivation. These outcomes capture economic, cognitive, social, and emotional aspects of child development.

The findings are obtained for three age groups: infants and young children aged 0–5, children aged 6–13, and adolescents aged 13–17.

Findings

The early findings of the project will be shared at an online workshop to be held on June 8, 2026, at 10:00 AM. The workshop will convene academics and policymakers across Türkiye. To participate in the workshop, please click the registration link and fill in the registration form.