Looking for Diversified Specialization in the Regions of Turkey

Abstract

Different forces within the urban and regional dynamics made significant either localization economies or urbanization economies in different circumstances. Several researchers highlighted that diversity and specialization are not exact opposites; a region can be both diversified and specialized. Diversified cities might include several specialized clusters, as diversity might be having a healthy mix of sectoral employment. Studies mainly look at the relationship between the sectorial specialization/diversification and employment growth and productivity. From all that, the concept of diversified specialization has recently occurred related to the outcome of relationships between the sectors and against the economic shocks. Furthermore, decision makers generally prefer a diverse specialization rather than just one or a few. The aim of this paper is to explore the specialization, diversification due to the manufacturing activities and furthermore diversified-specialization pattern of the 26 NUTS 2 regions of Turkey between 2009 and 2014. How the regions specialize and indicate diversification of related industries, and if they point out different patterns regarding technology levels of the industries are the main research questions. Moreover, the performance of regions is explored by dynamic shift-share analysis whether there is a relationship between the specialization/diversification pattern of regions and their advantages.

Keywords

• diversified specialization
• region
• turkey.