Regional Development In Turkey Research Articles

Cooperation with international organizations as a factor in increasing the state’s competitiveness and modernization of public administration in the field of regional development (the example of Turkey)

The article is devoted to analyzing the role of international organizations in enhancing the competitiveness of the state and modernizing public administration in regional development. The authors examined how the “policy transfer” takes place and affects the state’s competitiveness in Turkey’s example. Based on the concept of Rose on “policy transfer” and the study of E. Ertugal on the interaction of Turkey with the EU in this sphere, the authors explored the causes and methods of policy transfer of regional development; what roles do international organizations, such as the EU and the OECD, play in this process, what stages and results of policy transfer of regional development in Turkey. The authors characterized the features of the stages of policy transfer of regional development, determined the dynamics of integration of Turkey to the EU depending on the adaptation of its regional standards, legislation, and institutions to the European requirements, and increased Turkey’s competitiveness level. This improved the image of Turkey as a reliable and progressive partner and increased its attractiveness to foreign investors, trade partners, and tourists. Policy transfers of regional development also contributed to the modernization and diversification of Turkey’s economy, as it stimulated the development of regions that traditionally lagged the central and coastal areas. This enabled the country to use its potential in agriculture, industry, energy, transport, education, science, and innovation. This also helped to reduce regional inequality, poverty, and social tension, especially among the Kurdish population. The authors note that policy transfer of regional development also contributed to the enhancement of democracy and decentralization of governance in Turkey, as it strengthened the role and responsibility of regional and local authorities, as well as involved the public and civil society organizations in the process of planning and implementation of regional policy. This also enabled the country to increase its transparency, objectivity, and openness and prevent and fight corruption and clientelism. Keywords: cooperation, international organizations, competitiveness, public administration, regional development.

Development agencies in Turkey: an inter-regional performance assessment

Regional inequalities and regional development policies came to prominence in Turkey in the early 2000s as the EU accession and adaptation process gathered pace. Development Agencies (DAs) were established to reduce inequalities by implementing regional development policies and accelerating regional development in Turkey. This study aims to assess the performances of DAs in Turkey between 2010 and 2017 based on their activities. In view of the options and limitations suggested by the literature, the study adopted 13 performance indicators to evaluate DAs’ performance and effectiveness. These indicators have different forms so they were converted into standard values to be able to rank the performances of the DAs by the total of the scores they received. Frequency analysis was then used to divide the DAs into four performance groups. An evaluation of the results of the assessment in conjunction with the levels of socio-economic development of the regions in which the DAs operate indicated that the performances of the DAs and their contributions to regional development can be enhanced by increasing their means and resources in the case of underdeveloped regions and by a focus on the strategic areas called for by the region in the case of developed regions.

ЯК ЗА ДОПОМОГОЮ МЕТОДОЛОГІЇ "ТРАНСФЕРУ ПОЛІТИКИ" ВИЗНАЧИТИ ЕФЕКТИВНІСТЬ ВЗАЄМОДІЇ УКРАЇНИ З МІЖНАРОДНИМИ ОРГАНІЗАЦІЯМИ У СФЕРІ РЕГІОНАЛЬНОГО РОЗВИТКУ

The aim of the article is to represent the results of the authors' scientific findings on the adaption of widely known in foreign scientific thought approach of "policy transfer" for evaluation of cooperation's efficiency between Ukraine and international organizations on regional development. Authors find out that the specific of the "policy transfer" approach is its constructive character. Changes in the system of regional policy of Ukraine are continuous and the process of management is still ongoing. The framework of regional development in Ukraine is still corrected, updated and advanced not based on the internal domestic factors or election programs of political parties as in other countries, but throughout external influence led by international organizations such as EU, OECD and UNDP. Practical aim of the publication is to provide arguments for the hypotheses of "policy transfer" as an approach that may be practically used for researching and describing of essence, features, results and efficiency of cooperation between Ukraine and international organizations in the sphere of regional development. Authors synthesize conclusions on how to use the "policy transfer" approach for evaluating the efficiency of Ukraine's cooperation with international organizations on regional development by providing a comparative analysis of previously made research by E. Ertugal on policy transfer in regional development in Turkey.

Impacts of EU Grant-Assisted Projects on Institutional Capacity Building and Regional Development in Turkey: The Case of NUTS-2 Region TR82

Benefiting from European Union financial aid since 1963, Turkey has been receiving financial support as part of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA II) (2014–2020) available to candidate and potential candidate countries. There were 3 687 EU grant-assisted projects implemented in Turkey under the responsibility of the Central Finance and Contracts Unit (CFCU) until 2016. The total amount of grants for these projects was 452 million € and 381 million € of this amount was EU grant contribution. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of the EU’s financial aid rendered through these projects on the institutional capacity building and regional development. The research area covered by the study is one particular region of the country, namely NUTS-2 region TR82. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire sent to subjects sampled from institutions/organizations, which are located in the region and carried out projects received through the CFCU before 2016. The chi-square (χ2) test was used to test the relationship between the legal status, location (city), project management experience of the institutions/organizations surveyed and the effects related to institutional capacity building and regional development. The results of the analyses are presented and interpreted. Together these analyses show that EU grant-assisted projects implemented through the CFCU contribute to institutional capacity building and regional development.

An Empirical Analysis on International Migration as a Determinant of Regional Development in Turkey

Bölgesel kalkınma, bölgeler arası eşitsizliklerin giderilmesine katkıda bulunmaktadır. Eğitim, sağlık ve altyapı alanında yapılan kamu yatırımları, bölgelerdeki faktör verimliliğini artırdığı için eşitsizlikle mücadelede önemli bir role sahiptir. Uluslararası göç ise beşerî sermaye ve dış ticaret olmak üzere iki kanal üzerinden bölgesel kalkınmayı etkilemektedir. Göçmenler, bir bölgedeki beşerî sermayeyi ve dolayısıyla faktör verimliliğini artırdığı için bölgesel kalkınmaya katkıda bulunmaktadır. Dış ticaret kanalı büyük oranda ağ etkisinden kaynaklanmaktadır. Göçmen ağları, ana ve ev sahibi ülke arasındaki ekonomik işlemleri kolaylaştıracak güvene dayalı bir iş ortamı oluşturmaktadır. Bu açıklamalar ışığında hem göç alan hem de göç veren bir ülke olması açısından uluslararası göçün Türkiye’deki bölgesel kalkınma üzerine etkisini araştırmak önem arz etmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, panel veri analizi kullanarak uluslararası göçün bölgesel kalkınma üzerindeki etkisini incelemektir. Bu amaçla Türkiye’nin İBBS (İstatistiki Bölge Birimleri Sınıflandırması) 2 düzeyine dayanan 26 bölgesinin 2012-2017 dönemi verisi kullanılmıştır. Tüm bölgeler analize dahil edildiği için katsayılar sabit etkiler modeliyle tahmin edilmiştir. Modelde uluslararası göç ve bölgesel kalkınmayı sırasıyla yasal göçmenlerin sayısı ve kişi başına düşen bölgesel gayrisafi yurtiçi hasıla temsil etmektedir. Her iki değişkene ilişkin veri Türkiye İstatistik Kurumunun veri tabanından alınmıştır. Çalışmanın temel bulgusuna göre uluslararası göç akımlarının bölgesel kalkınma üzerinde pozitif etkisi vardır. Ayrıca işgücü ve eğitim üzerine yapılan kamu yatırımları, bölgesel kalkınma üzerinde pozitif bir etkiye sahiptir. Bu kanıtlar ışığında nitelikli göçmen işgücü, bölgeler için dış beşerî sermaye kaynağı olarak değerlendirilebilir. Son olarak ihracatın bölgesel kalkınma üzerinde zayıf bir pozitif etkisi vardır.

Social capital and regional development in Turkey

AbstractThis paper aims to improve the shortcomings of the empirical literature on regional social capital. The following three research questions are addressed: (i) do regional social capital and economic growth have an endoneous (circular) relationship as opposed to the exogenous one‐way relationship assumed in the literature; (ii) What are the socio‐economic and demographic determinants of cross‐regional variation in social capital? And (iii) Are spatial spillovers relevant in the analysis of these questions? Empirically, we pursue the analysis for 81 Turkish provinces in 2015. Indeed, regional social capital in Turkey is far less studied than country‐level social capital. The methodology adopted includes kernel density estimates, ordinary least squares, three stage least squares, and spatial error models. In terms of the obtained results, First, regional social capital is heterogenously distributed across regions. Second, social capital has no significant impact on economic growth but the growth induces the generation of social capital (in social norms). This represents a first result of reserve causality in the literature. Third, a typical province that has high social capital is the one with relatively high income, more even income distribution, low unemployment, big households and older age profile. Fourth, there is the evidence of spatial dependence that should be incorporated in empirical analyses.

BÖLGESEL KALKINMA ÇALIŞMALARINDA ORTAK YAZARLIK VE ATIF AĞLARININ SOSYAL AĞ ANALİZİ İLE İNCELENMESİ

Sosyal ağ analizi ilişki yapılarının araştırılmasında kullanılan önemli bir yöntemdir. Aynı zamanda, bilimsel yayınların ilişki yapıları, işbirliği düzeyleri, üretken yazarların belirlenmesi, alıntı sayılarındaki durumun nitelik yönünden değerlendirilmesini sağlamaktadır. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de bölgesel kalkınma alanında yapılan çalışmalarda öne çıkan yazar ve bölümler, kurumsal işbirliği düzeyi sosyal ağ analizi ve düğümlerin ağ yapı içerisinde merkezilik değerleri yardımıyla incelenmektedir. 1975-2017 yılları arasında atıf indekslerinde (SCI, SSCI ve AHCI) Bölgesel Kalkınma konusunda, Türkiye adresli yapılmış 158 yayın değerlendirilmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar, atıf indekslerinde yayınlanmış bölgesel kalkınma çalışmalarının hızının 2010 yılından sonra arttığını göstermektedir. Yapılan çalışmalar yeterli kurumsal desteğe sahip olmamakla birlikte, etki faktörü düşük dergilerde yayınlanmaktadır. Ayrıca, ekonomi bilimine ait bir çalışma alanı olmasına karşın, yayın sayısının şehir ve bölge planlama gibi diğer alanlarda daha yüksek olduğu görülmektedir.

Government Quality and Regional Development in Turkey

This paper investigates the impact of government quality on regional development differences in Turkey. First set of results obtained from spatial data analysis show that individuals’ perception on government services is spatially non-random. Moreover this spatial pattern is subject to substantial level of clustering behavior; as there are different spatial regimes shaping regions’ perception. Second set of analysis underline that ties among government quality and regional development are relatively weak. Specifically for certain public services, level of perception and regional wellbeing is even inversely related. More interestingly further spatial variability analysis shows that, relationship between government quality and regional development is positive among some mid-developed northern regions, while for less developed eastern regions as well as developed metropolitan areas individuals level of satisfaction and regional development witness either negative or relatively weak association. These results suggest the existence of sizeable local instabilities in explaining spatial distribution of government quality in Turkey. Moreover results also underline that individuals and regions from different socio-economic background tend to perceive level of government services as less satisfactory albeit they enjoy different level of development. This reminds that there are different motives behind negative perception of government quality among less developed and developed regions of Turkey.

Impact of Accessibility and Knowledge Creation on Local and Regional Development in Turkey

AbstractOne of the fundamental aspects of the economic and social viability of the local and regional areas of Turkey is the degree to which they have access to the wider national economic and social system. Accessibility is, therefore, of major social, economic and political significance in Turkey and it directly affects Turkey's regional growth and the quality of life in local communities. However, the importance of the economic and social viability of the communities is increasingly complicated in the face of rapid global economic recession. It is argued that countries need to develop knowledge economies to compete successfully as knowledge is a critical factor for growth. This paper integrates accessibility and the importance of knowledge creation in understanding local and regional economic development. This empirical study has shown that although there is a high correlation between the accessibility index and the population figures of Turkey, accessibility to knowledge differs across Turkish provinces.

TRADE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: THE CASE OF TURKEY

There is widespread literature investigating the relationship between increasing trade openness and economic development; however the relationship between trade (openness) and regional development remains limited. This paper empirically examines the relationship between trade openness and regional development in Turkey. For this purpose, we initially define the regional development index for 81 provinces in Turkey. The definition is based on the concept and the calculation method of the human development index. We then add a few control variables within panel data estimation frameworks to contribute to the explanations of the relationship. The empirical findings show that the increases in trade openness are positively associated with future increases in regional development. In addition, the levels of government investments positively contribute to regional development. However, a negative relationship exists between the size of a province and its development.

Domestic tourism—a chance for regional development in Turkey?

During the last two decades tourism in Turkey has become a mass industry concentrated in the western and southern coastal areas. As these areas were part of the more developed regions of the country, tourism in its current structure contributes to the strengthening of interregional disparities in Turkey. In addition, in the centres of mass tourism socio-economical unsustainable demand and supply structures evolved. Simultanously, the domestic tourism market has increased, and it can offer a socio-economic alternative to the further expansion of international mass tourism. Thus, the so far little developed South-East and East Anatolia, with an abundance of historical sights and natural highlights, can offer new destinations for domestic travellers while contributing to a sustainable development of these regions. As a precondition a national domestic tourism policy, stable prices and a strong promotion of the new destinations are essential.

Uneven Development in Southern Europe: Studies of Accumulation, Class, Migration and the State

This book consists of selected papers originally presented at a conference entitled National and Regional Development in the Mediterranean Basin held at the University of Durham in April 1982. The geographic focus is on Southern Europe including Turkey. Papers are included on the effects of emigration on regional development in Turkey the economic impact of returned emigrants in Turkey and return migration and rural economic change in southern Italy. (ANNOTATION)