- Eichengreen, B., Saka, O. and Aksoy, C.G. (2024). The Political Scar of Epidemics. The Economic Journal, 134(660), pp. 1683–1700. doi:10.1093/ej/uead103.
- SAKA, O., EICHENGREEN, B. and AKSOY, C.G. (2022). Epidemic Exposure, Financial Technology, and the Digital Divide. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 54(7), pp. 1913–1940. doi:10.1111/jmcb.12945.
- Bircan, Ç. and Saka, O. (2021). Lending Cycles and Real Outcomes: Costs of Political Misalignment. The Economic Journal, 131(639), pp. 2763–2796. doi:10.1093/ej/ueab020.
- Eichengreen, B., Aksoy, C.G. and Saka, O. (2021). Revenge of the experts: Will COVID-19 renew or diminish public trust in science? Journal of Public Economics, 193, pp. 104343–104343. doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104343.
- Saka, O. (2020). Domestic Banks As Lightning Rods? Home Bias and Information during the Eurozone Crisis. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 52(S1), pp. 273–305. doi:10.1111/jmcb.12744.
- Saka, O., Fuertes, A.-.M. and Kalotychou, E. (2015). ECB policy and Eurozone fragility: Was De Grauwe right? Journal of International Money and Finance, 54, pp. 168–185. doi:10.1016/j.jimonfin.2015.03.002.
Dr Orkun Saka
Contact details
Address
Dr Orkun Saka
City St George's, University of London
Northampton Square
London EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom
Northampton Square
London EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom
Personal links
About
Overview
Orkun is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Economics at the City St George's, University of London, a Visiting Senior Fellow at LSE as well as a Research Affiliate at the CESifo network. He has previously visited several research institutions including the University of Cambridge and University of California, Berkeley. His academic papers have been published in some of the leading journals in economics and finance, such as The Economic Journal and Journal of Money, Credit and Banking.
His main research interests are in financial intermediation, international finance and political economy.
Qualifications
- PhD in Finance, City St George's, University of London, United Kingdom, Sep 2014 – Jul 2017
- MRes/MPhil in Finance, City St George's, University of London, United Kingdom, Sep 2012 – Sep 2014
- MSc in Finance & Accounting, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom, Sep 2010 – Jul 2011
- BSc in Business (Finance), Middle East Technical University, Turkey, Sep 2004 – Jul 2009
Administrative roles
- Research Lead (Macro-Finance Cluster), City St George's, University of London, Sep 2023 – present
- Deputy Director of Research & Impact Lead in Economics, City St George's, University of London, Sep 2022 – Sep 2024
- Programme Director for MSc Financial Economics, City St George's, University of London, Sep 2021 – Sep 2022
Employment
- Visiting Senior Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science, Sep 2023 – present
- Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge, Apr – Jun 2023
- Senior Lecturer in Economics, City St George's, University of London, Aug 2022 – present
- Visiting Scholar, University of California, Berkeley, Apr – Jun 2022
- Lecturer in Economics, City St George's, University of London, Sep 2021 – Aug 2022
- Research Associate, London School of Economics and Political Science, May 2021 – Feb 2025
- Research Affiliate, CESifo Network, Jan 2021 – present
- Visiting Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science, Apr 2019 – Aug 2023
- Lecturer in Finance, University of Sussex, Apr 2019 – Sep 2021
- Visiting Researcher, Bank of Finland, Jan – Feb 2019
- Research Associate, London School of Economics and Political Science, Nov 2018 – Aug 2024
- Postdoctoral Research Officer, London School of Economics and Political Science, Aug 2017 – Mar 2019
- Research Consultant, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Mar – Aug 2017
- PhD Intern, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Aug – Oct 2016
- PhD Intern, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, May – Aug 2015
Award
- University of Sussex Business School (2021) Research Excellence Award for Emerging Scholars
Publications
Publications by category
Chapters (4)
- Saka, O., Martelli, A., Campos, N., Ganslmeier, M. and Ji, Y. (2020). On the complementarity between labour market regulation and tax reforms in the European Union. Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-78251-7.
- Saka, O., Campos, N., De Grauwe, P., Ganslmeier, M., Ji, Y. and Martelli, A. (2020). Structural reforms in Europe: Lessons from early experiences. Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-78251-7.
- Saka, O., Campos, N., De Grauwe, P., Ji, Y. and Martelli, A. (2020). Financial crises and liberalization: Progress or reversals? Economic Growth and Structural Reforms in Europe Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-78251-7.
- Saka, O. and Bircan, C. (2019). Elections and Economic Cycles: What Can We Learn from the Recent Turkish Experience? Crony Capitalism in the Middle East Business and Politics from Liberalization to the Arab Spring Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-879987-0.
Internet publication
- Fuertes, A.M., Kalotychou, E. and Saka, O. (2015). How did the ECB save the Eurozone without spending a single euro?
Journal articles (6)
Reports (3)
- Saka, O. and Bircan, C. (2020). The "dark side" of state banks. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
- Saka, O. (2020). Synthetic forecasting method for COVID-19: Applications to UK and Turkey. Systemic Risk Centre (LSE).
- Saka, O. and Bircan, C. (2017). Firm dynamics and productivity. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Thesis/dissertation
- Saka, O. Essays on Sovereign Risk and Banking. (PhD)
Working papers (3)
- Saka, O., Ji, Y. and Minaudier, C. (2024). Political Accountability during Crises: Evidence from 40 years of Financial Policies. London, UK: City, University of London.
- Eichengreen, B. and Saka, O. (2022). Cultural Stereotypes of Multinational Banks. London, UK: City, University of London.
- Saka, O., Eichengreen, B. and Aksoy, C.G. (2021). Epidemic Exposure, Financial Technology, and the Digital Divide. London, UK: City, University of London.
Professional activities
Editorial activity
- I have acted as a referee for many leading academic journals in economics, finance and sociology including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Political Economy, The Economic Journal, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking and American Sociological Review (see my CV for the full list of journals)., Referee.
Events/conferences (6)
- 3rd LSE Workshop on Political Economy of Turkey. (Workshop) London, UK (2021). Organising Committee.
Description: I co-organized the 3rd LSE Workshop on Political Economy of Turkey, which took place virtually on 3rd of September, 2021. The workshop involved the presentations and discussions of 5 high-quality academic papers. Topics ranged from the roots of nation-building via education and propaganda to what role political partisanship may play in bank depositors' behaviour amidst a currency crisis.
The keynote speech was delivered by Daron Acemoglu (MIT). - 2nd London Political Finance (POLFIN) Workshop. (Workshop) London, UK (2021). Organising Committee.
Description: I co-organized the 2nd London Political Finance (POLFIN) Workshop, jointly sponsored by LSE's Systemic Risk Centre and the Business School (formerly Cass) of the City, University of London. The workshop involved the presentations and discussions of 8 high-quality academic papers. Topics ranged from politicians' corporate favouritism and influence on capital flows to polarization in finance and the role of dark money in elections.
The workshop featured a keynote speech by Renée B. Adams (Oxford). - 2nd LSE Workshop on Political Economy of Turkey. (Workshop) London, UK (2020). Organising Committee.
Description: I co-organized the 2nd LSE Workshop on Political Economy of Turkey, which took place virtually on 10-11th of September, 2020. The workshop involved the presentations and discussions of 8 high-quality academic papers. Topics ranged from how to better integrate refugee kids via educational means to what role economic shocks play in intimate partner violence and political conflict.
The keynote speech was delivered by Sule Alan (EUI). - 1st London Political Finance (POLFIN) Workshop. (Workshop) London, UK (2020). Organising Committee.
Description: I co-organized the 1st London Political Finance (POLFIN) Workshop, jointly sponsored by Cass Business School and LSE's Systemic Risk Centre. The inaugural workshop involved the presentations and discussions of 9 high-quality academic papers. Topics ranged from how financial crises can lead to the rise of populism to how banks can capture the media in order to benefit from biased news coverage.
The workshop featured a keynote speech by Sir Timothy Besley (LSE). - ASSA Session on Social Capital and Banking Crises. (Conference) San Diego, USA (2020). Organising Committee.
Description: I organized a session for the ASSA Meetings on 3-5 January, 2020, in San Diego (CA, US). The set of papers in this session focused on the bilateral relationship between the failure of the banking systems and social values. Not only financial turbulence can cause individuals to change their social preferences, but also the nature of the financial system and its dynamics very much depend on the social structure upon which they are built. In this panel, we first see two cross-country studies using survey data to discuss how social capital in general and public confidence specifically in the banking sector might evolve in the aftermath of financial crises. We see a complementary perspective in the next two papers that use bank-level data in a national context in order to disentangle the disciplining effects of depositors’ social preferences on their banks’ (mis)behaviour. These papers illustrate how social values are incorporated into individuals’ financial decision-making and how banks react to this in return.
The session was chaired by Paul Wachtel (NYU). - 1st LSE Workshop on Political Economy of Turkey. (Workshop) London, UK (2019). Organising Committee.
Description: I co-organized the 1st LSE Workshop on Political Economy of Turkey, which took place on 12th of March, 2019, at the Graham Wallas Room of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The first workshop of its kind involved the presentations and discussions of 7 high-quality academic papers. Topics ranged from how armed conflict may benefit politically-connected firms to how political communication may polarise voter attitudes. The workshop brought together some of the most promising junior scholars working on issues related to Turkey and its political economy. As a point of pride in the economics profession, six out of seven speakers were female, coming from a diverse set of academic institutions.
The workshop also featured a policy panel with Selin Sayek Böke (Member of Turkish Parliament) as the main speaker and Sergei Guriev (former Chief Economist of EBRD) as the chair.
Media appearances (26)
- Forbes. Science needs public relations
Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/01/13/science-needs-public-relations/ - Frankfurter Allgemeine (German). Warum Menschen der Wissenschaft nicht mehr vertrauen
Link: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/corona-pandemie-warum-das-vertrauen-in-die-wissenschaft-sinkt-17187385.html - Bloomberg. The Legacy of the lost year will be devastating inequality
Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-10/covid-pandemic-made-racial-income-inequality-much-worse - Daily Sabah. Turkish youth focus on reliability in politics
Link: https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/news-analysis/turkish-youth-focus-on-reliability-in-politics-demand-firm-economy - USA Today. Fact check: 'Trust the science' critique includes 3 real ads – and one from a video game
Link: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/06/30/trust-science-post-uses-3-real-images-one-video-game/5056020001/ - The Telegraph. Classroom bubble to be expanded, as Gavin Williamson commits to Prime Minister's September schools guarantee
Link: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/06/19/lockdown-uk-news-update-track-trace-schools-boris-johnson/ - Euronews (Turkish). LSE araştırması: Pandemi sürecinde Z kuşağı hükümetlerine zayıf not verdi
Link: https://tr.euronews.com/2020/06/21/lse-arast-rmas-pandemi-surecinde-z-kusag-hukumetlerine-zay-f-not-verdi - BBC (Turkish). Z kuşağı: Türkiye'de Z kuşağı kimlerden oluşuyor, yaşadıkları sorunlar ne?
Link: https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-turkiye-53250029 - The Washington Post. Coronavirus will undermine trust in government, ‘scarring body and mind’ for decades, research finds
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/05/coronavirus-pandemic-trust-government/ - World Finance. Cold Turkey: Coronavirus further weakens the lira
Link: https://www.worldfinance.com/markets/cold-turkey-coronavirus-further-weakens-the-lira - The Guardian. The most dangerous phase of the US Covid-19 crisis may be yet to come
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/10/us-covid-19-crisis-health-economy - Financial Times. Covid has made the state’s hand more visible but there are risks
Link: https://www.ft.com/content/c5295c0d-ab82-49fd-afb4-0edba303ac4d - Bloomberg. Turkish State Banks Are Lending Along Party Lines, EBRD Says
Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-10/turkey-s-state-banks-seen-lending-along-party-lines-ebrd-says - South China Morning Post. Generation C: for young Asians, coronavirus defines bleak new era of vanishing career prospects
Link: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3109535/generation-c-young-asians-coronavirus-defines-bleak-new-era - Finanz und Wirtschaft (German). Vermindert Covid unser Vertrauen in die Wissenschaft?
Link: https://www.fuw.ch/article/vermindert-covid-unser-vertrauen-in-die-wissenschaft/ - Fortune. The pandemic paradox: surviving a public health crisis breeds more science skeptics, researchers find
Link: https://fortune.com/2020/11/27/pandemic-paradox-science-skeptics-coronavirus/ - Financial Times. Erdogan’s mission to defend lira unsettles overseas investors
Link: https://www.ft.com/content/98d40f12-530f-11ea-90ad-25e377c0ee1f - Deutsche Welle. Turkey blames 'foreign powers' for fresh currency woes
Link: https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-blames-foreign-powers-for-fresh-currency-woes/a-53431231) - Arab News. Suspension of lira transactions by European banks hints at trouble to come
Link: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1676711/business-economy - Times Higher Education. Public trust in scientists ‘will decline in wake of Covid-19’
Link: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/public-trust-scientists-will-decline-wake-covid-19 - The New Zealand Herald. Public battles over virus diminish trust in scientists
Link: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-nanogirl-michelle-dickinson-public-battles-over-virus-diminish-trust-in-scientists/QCDQCVAP4MAXJSIPGI2GPPGQWQ/ - Wall Street Journal. Maybe the Recovery Already Started
Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/newsletter-maybe-the-recovery-already-started-01591958427?tesla=y - Daily Mail. Coronavirus crisis could undermine young people's trust in governments and political institutions for years to come, study shows
Link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8435785/COVID-19-crisis-undermine-young-peoples-trust-governments-political-institutions.html - BBC (Turkish). Yerel seçimler öncesinde kamu bankaları iktidar partisi lehine kredi dağıtıyor
Link: https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-turkiye-47415520 - BBC (Turkish). İstanbul seçimi: 23 Haziran’da kazanan ne kadar büyük bir ekonomiden sorumlu olacak?
Link: https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-turkiye-48434512 - Reuters. Mayor says Turkish state banks shut out Istanbul after poll win
Link: https://www.reuters.com/article/turkey-politics-imamoglu-financing-idUKL8N28515T
Online articles (15)
- The Costs of political misalignment: Forest fires and bank loans in Turkey. (2021). [ProMarket]
- Why we don’t write more papers on political finance. (2021). [VoxEU]
- Epidemic exposure, fintech adoption, and the digital divide. (2021). [VoxEU]
- The Political scars of the pandemic. (2021). [Schweizer Monat]
- Exposure to epidemics and trust in scientists. (2021). [IZA World of Labor]
- The Covid-19 vaccine is nearly here. The question is: Will people take it? (2020). [ProMarket]
- Financial policymaking after crises: Public versus private interest. (2020). [VoxEU]
- Financial crises and right-wing populism: how do politics and finance shape each other? (2020). [LSE Business Review]
- The political scar of epidemics. (2020). [VoxEU]
- Revenge of the experts: Will COVID-19 renew or diminish trust in science? (2020). [VoxEU]
- Banks and government bonds: A love story. (2020). [VoxEU]
- Financial crises and the dynamics of financial de-liberalisation. (2019). [VoxEU]
- Lending cycles and real outcomes: Costs of political misalignment. (2019). [VoxEU]
- How did the ECB save the Eurozone without spending a single euro? (2015). [VoxEU]
- ECB policy and Eurozone fragility - Was De Grauwe right? (2014). [CassKnowledge]