The Role of Entrepreneurship in Local Economic Growth: Example of Gaziantep

In order to avoid social inequality of opportunity and improvement of local economies have become government policies in Turkey, as it is in other countries around the world. Incentives, regional development agencies, techno parks and also local entrepreneurs play crucial role in the improvement process of local economies. The increasing rivalry and globalization concept necessitate entrepreneurs to take more risks, to reach innovations to seize opportunities in optimum level. Entrepreneurship is a motor vessel in financial growth and in development, and entrepreneurship is also the source of innovation and creativity. In this regard, the more entrepreneurship develops in a country, the higher level of welfare possesses the chance to advance. The purpose of this report, in which it has been aimed to reveal vital role of entrepreneurship in the progress of local economies, is emphasizing the status of entrepreneurship that transformed Gaziantep’s socio-economic level of development into its present position. Thus with this aim a SWOT analysis, in terms of Gaziantep’s economic entrepreneurship has been carried out. Positive contributions of Gaziantep’s immensely developed industry, facilitation of local innovative entrepreneurs’ involvement in various local economic sectors and in accordance channeling immigration into deployment in local economy have been observed in this study. Significantly it has been observed that plenitude of “opportunist entrepreneurship” or in other words “the entrepreneurs with strategic growth plans” in this region contributed local economy positively.

Collusion in the Turkish Banking Sector

In this paper, I consider the Turkish Banking Industry, which is dominated by a few large banks. Using a conjectural variation approach, I estimate a structural model to examine the market conduct of the largest banks for the period 1988-2009. Estimation results suggest that the Turkish banks colluded in the loan market during the sample period where the average mark-up is estimated to be in the range of 44% to 86% depending on the empirical specification. This evidence demonstrates a conflict between market concentration and competition in the Turkish banking industry. Thus, regulatory agencies should be cautious against attempts to increase concentration in the banking industry.

The Importance of Azerbaijan's Energy Revenues in its Exports Volume and the Effects on the National Economy

Large energy reserves have been a major contributor to the Azerbaijan economy, and effected the country's exports volume, and have become a main determinant of the country's economic structure. Azerbaijan is a country that has major oil and gas based economy with the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline in 2005 and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Gas Pipeline in 2007. First export oil was pumped into Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan in May 2005, and the oil reached Ceyhan in May 2006. On the other hand, first export gas was pumped into Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum in March 2007. The importance of country energy source revenues on Azerbaijan's export volume and the effects on national economy has increased with the completion of these pipelines year after year. Azeri export’s reliance on energy source revenues keeps dominant position in Azerbaijan’s exports despite efforts to diversify Azerbaijan’s economy away from oil. Finally, crude oil made 86 percent and oil products made 6 percent, so oil and oil products made 92 percent of Azerbaijan’s export in 2011. Non-oil products made up only 8 percent of the country’s export last year. Thus, non-oil sector contribution to Azerbaijani export was lower than Georgian export in 2011. This means that increasing of total export volume of Azerbaijan is not sustainable.

Structural Change in Kazakhstan Economy (2005-2009): An Analysis with Input-Output Model

One of the main objectives of economic policies of developing countries is implementing structural changes to enhance the economic development. Globalization as well as in all over the world, has accelerated this structural change in Kazakhstan. Despite the fact that concept of the economic structure is wide range, the structural change explained by the different approaches in the research, which is important in reflecting different aspects of the country's economic structure and in determining economic plans and policies. Under these circumstances an input - output analysis of economic structure is the main reason to write this paper. For this purpose, in the given research was used input-output tables prepared by the Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the period 2005-2009, to examine changes in the structure of economic production by industrial interdependence; changes in production techniques; the intermediate product effectiveness and total efficiency coefficients, to inform about structural changes in the economy and make contribution to policy and plan making process. Research based on analyze of input-output tables prepared by the Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan as a source of data for the years for 2005 and for 2009. For the purpose of the study structural changes were calculated and compared by industrial interdependence with the production techniques, intermediate production usage coefficients on sectoral and macro-level. Thereby, technical results obtained from the explanation of positive and negative aspects of production in Kazakhstan on sector basis, allows to give recommendations.

The Relationships between Competitiveness and Economic Growth: A Study on the Countries of Central Asia and Caucasus

The relationships among input, production and market suddenly broke down after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The reflections of this disintegration are deeply felt in the Central Asian and in the Caucasian economies, which lack the traditions of being a government. The imbalances in the supply and demand, such as shutting down of factories due to breakdown of production relations and the resulting severe rise in the unemployment rate, caused a transition recession. As well-known in the literature, the main reason behind this is the interdependency of the production structures in these newly independent former Soviet countries. Large industrial establishments were left alone due to lack of sufficient raw materials and other inputs, due to lack of new technologies, and/or due to political void resulting from the transition period. In the newly established economic and political system, all of these countries, namely Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, try to realize their economic growth and development by specializing in the production of goods in which they have an economic advantage in terms of competitiveness. In this study, the effects of competitiveness on economic growth is investigated for these 7 countries during the 1995-2010 period using panel data analysis based on the Lafay index. In the light of the results of this research, policy recommendations are attempted in order to determine the sectors in which these countries are more competitive and hence to suggest ways of increasing their economic growth rate.

Social Impact of Sustainable Ecotourism: Cases from Turkey

The concept of sustainability began to dominate tourism debates after the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio in 1992. Ecotourism is the fastest growing sector, with an estimated growth rate of 25 to 30 percent, of one of the largest industries in the world. The motto of Action Program for Sustainable Development was that “Only whatever can be sustained by nature and society in the long term permissible.” The World Conservation Union expanded this definition as follows: “Ecotourism is environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations.” There are two major problems with respect to ecotourism: achieving ecologic integrity of the ecotourism resource and, increasing and ensuring consistency of quality of the recreation experience for the ecotourist. Economic, environmental and social impacts involved in ecotourism should be balanced within ethical principles. The first official reference to the concept of ecotourism in Turkey was made in the Eighth Five-Year Development Plan (2001-2005). The aim of this study is to explore social impacts of ecotourism in Turkey. Some projects and surveys related with ecotourism will be considered in order to get better understanding of social impacts of ecotourism on the lives of local people in Turkey.

An Evaluation of Percepctives of Students Studing in Turkey from Turkish Republics and Relative Communities about Instructional Progams

In this study, relative communications and Turk Republics’ students thought about instructional programs according to their sex, age, departments, marriage and nationality who attended Samsun Education Faculty In 19 May University were investigated The sample and universe of research consists 106 students who attended in different departments of Samsun Education Faculty. Data required a questionnaire developed by researcher with 5 Likert type with 20 items. Data was analyzed in terms of frequencies, percentages, t-Test, One way Anova, Post Hoch (LSD). The results of research show that there are meaningful differences between of variables about instructional programs. (p<0.05).

Poverty, Education Technologies and Eurasian Economies

While poverty has been a phenomenon encountered practically in all societies in the past, it still continues to exist as a significant social phenomenon in our day. In this study, poverty concepts, significance of education in fighting with poverty, opportunities offered by the latest innovations in education technologies for education and the contributions that can be provided by these innovations to education programs aimed to fight with poverty have been explained. How the Eurasian countries may use education technologies in the anti-poverty programs that they could collectively implement and the opportunities that could be offered by collective action have been discussed.

Reasons for Ethical Problems in the Health Sector

There are two main reasons of public interventions in the health market. First, the health care market cannot make efficient production on market conditions because of its attributes such as the unequal distribution of knowledge, being a public good, the presence of positive and negative externalities. Second, the public authority has also the aim to achieve justice. These qualities are also the source of ethical problems in the health sector, whether the service is generated, by the public or the private sector. Almost in all countries the health sector is usually provided by the public sector because of externalities. But because the side effects of the production of health services by the public sector emerged in recent years, the participation of the private sector was ensured to minimize these effects. For developing countries such as Turkey and Eurasian countries, a more effective use of the funds used for the health sector is recommended, and the space these expenditures cover in the budget are said can be scaled down with the opening of some areas for private entrepreneurs. However, the unique characteristics of the health sector seem to cause problems regardless whether it is produced by the public or the private sector. In this study it is attempted to give the attributes of the health sector in detail and to establish a relationship with ethical problems in the light of experiences in Turkey.

Interaction of Political Stability and Economic Development in Central Asian Countries

Central Asian Countries decolonized by break up of USSR, struggle with the important and unsolvable problems during the process of transition from an implicit and statist economic system to the capitalist system. Although 20 years have passed, the liberal countries adopted the free market economy, face the big handicaps in the transition process of their economic system to the modern capitalist system. I have been in these territories in the transition process from socialist system to the capitalist system. So I am sure that the field of tourism, trade, industry, agriculture and service has the important role in the development planning of the countries. In this study I will try to emphasize the significance and necessity of political stability and social peace and comfort to the development of tourism and trade. My former studies focused on some countries of the Central Asian Countries, had got great attention in the international congresses. Now I will try to review the importance of tourism and trade in the development of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and necessity of political stability and the advantages and disadvantages of these countries in this way. Naturally underground and over ground treasures, geopolitical, geostrategic, geo-economic positions, political systems, social structures of this region and regional balances affect directly or deviously the political stability of above countries. In this study I will try to offer suggestions in view of the fact that these interactions.