Orgul Ozturk
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About Orgul
Dr. Ozturk’s research examines national and state-level policies and their effects on individual outcomes, with attention to disparities by gender, race, and socioeconomic status. Her work spans welfare, SNAP, and other programs serving disadvantaged populations. She applies advanced causal inference methods and cost-effectiveness analysis to large-scale administrative and survey data. Dr. Ozturk contributes to health, education, and labor economics with a focus on real-world policy impact. She founded the South Carolina Economic Policy Center (SC EPIC) to bridge research and local policymaking through community-driven collaboration and rigorous analysis and program evaluations.
Contributions
Universal School Meals Lighten the Load for Families and Food Banks
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Publications
Examines the effects of failing high school exit exams on adult criminal behavior, economic self-sufficiency and several other medium-and long-run outcomes. Finds that black students who just failed the exam were 20% more likely to engage in adult criminal behavior compared to those who just passed, while no significant effect was found for white students.
Examines the impact of school accountability on adult crime and economic self-sufficiency. Finds that students attending schools with low accountability ratings are less likely to engage in crime or be incarcerated as adults. However, there is no significant impact on their future use of social welfare programs.
Examines how greater access to federal nutrition assistance through schoolwide free meal programs affects food bank use within the U.S.’s largest food bank network. Findings highlight that even safety net programs that serve a specific population and offer distinct services can reduce pressures on charitable organizations, particularly in areas previously underserved by government assistance.
Evaluates the impact of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which provides universal free school lunches, on student performance and attendance in South Carolina. Findings suggest that broader access to free meals can enhance academic outcomes, particularly for certain low-income student groups.
Examines how the timing of SNAP benefit receipt affects emergency room (ER) use, using linked SNAP and Medicaid data. Fnds that ER visits increase at the end of the benefit month, particularly among older recipients, suggesting that food insecurity late in the cycle drives higher ER usage.