Short Biography

M. Aykut Attar is an Associate Professor of Economics at Hacettepe University. Since February 2022, he also holds the title of Associate Professor of Macroeconomics, given by the Inter-University Council of the Republic of Türkiye. 

Dr. Attar's research focuses mainly on long-run patterns of economic growth and development, and particularly on endogenous demographic and technological change. He teaches several undergraduate and graduate sections at the Department of Economics at Hacettepe University. These include Development and Growth I-II for undergraduate seniors, and Economic Growth and Mathematical Economics for graduate students. 

Dr. Attar holds B.Sc., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Hacettepe University ('03), Ankara University ('05), and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ('11), respectively. His master's thesis is an empirical analysis of global income distribution and convergence clubs, and his doctoral dissertation constructs a unified growth model and applies that model to the first Industrial Revolution. 

In May 2013, his research on the economic demography of Türkiye has received the 2012 Celasun Family Special Award in an event organized by the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV). In June 2018, his research on the dynamics of technological progress in Türkiye has been awarded with the 2017 Encouragement Award in Social Sciences by Hacettepe University. In March 2020, he has received the 2nd Asaf Savaş Akat Award with the paper entitled "Long-Run Economic Growth in Turkey: Sources, Pitfalls, and Prospects." 

Dr. Attar is a member of the Turkish Initiative for Economic Thought, the Middle East Economic Association, the Cliometric Society, the Turkish Economic Association, and the Social Policy Platform at TOBB-UET's Center for Social Policy Research. He also serves as executive committee member at Hacettepe University's Urban Studies Center.