Regional development in Turkey: An evaluation on development plans

Abstract

Regional development is one of the main problem areas in the world as well as in Turkey. Turkey, has implemented various policies to solve interregional and intraregional development problems. In this process from General Inspectorates to Development Agencies, many projects were tried to be implemented. Development Plans, which started to be created with the development of the central planning approach and the establishment of the State Planning Organization (SPO) in the post-1960 period, have become one of the basic factors in ensuring regional development. The increasing of regional disparities, changes in regional development concept and Turkey's relations with the European Union, has led to a change in the regional policies implemented in the country. Meanwhile, in this chapter, the concept of regional development, how the concept of region discussed in Turkey and the initiatives to establish the district administration are mentioned. The aim of the chapter is to determine how development plans affect regional development policies. Therefore, after the explanations about the region, how the notion of regional development is handled in Development Plans has been examined and evaluated. It was concluded that the factors included in the development plans were sufficient to ensure regional development, but the implementation could not be achieved at the desired grade due to reasons such as economic insufficiencies, political power changes, problems arising from legal regulations and the regions inability to attract investors at the desired grade.