Local economic development (LED) is progressively being implemented by developing
countries and has shifted from being a development approach pursued only by industrialised
nations. Academic interpretation of LED prioritises strategies based on ideas of grassroots
and bottom-up development. These ideas are centred on the self-reliance of communities as
well as on highlighting the benefits of creating partnerships with different actors for local
development. In most developed countries, nationally based developmental models are based
on, in Turkey we usually do not care about local differences, a structure that tries to reveal
local residents by determining the center. However, one of their great importances to the
development process of the Republic, the government policies are towards the improvement
of inter-regional income distribution. In fact, such policies increase the importance of regional
development models in parallel with the increasing globalization of competition. In particular,
since the distribution of natural and social resources of country on the country's geography is
not identical in absolute terms, local and national development also requires policies and
plans that are absolutely planned and balanced. So that, in this thesis we will focus on briefly
Local Economic Development (LED) concept and then we will evaluate Turkey's various
Local Economic Development applications. We will also give an example of one of local
development actor, municipalities, as Eskişehir Municipality that we could compare if
municipality's development strategy matches with country's development strategies. Various
books, articles, theses, statistical data and electronic sources were used to create the content of
this thesis and to confirm its validity.
Annotation in English
Local economic development (LED) is progressively being implemented by developing
countries and has shifted from being a development approach pursued only by industrialised
nations. Academic interpretation of LED prioritises strategies based on ideas of grassroots
and bottom-up development. These ideas are centred on the self-reliance of communities as
well as on highlighting the benefits of creating partnerships with different actors for local
development. In most developed countries, nationally based developmental models are based
on, in Turkey we usually do not care about local differences, a structure that tries to reveal
local residents by determining the center. However, one of their great importances to the
development process of the Republic, the government policies are towards the improvement
of inter-regional income distribution. In fact, such policies increase the importance of regional
development models in parallel with the increasing globalization of competition. In particular,
since the distribution of natural and social resources of country on the country's geography is
not identical in absolute terms, local and national development also requires policies and
plans that are absolutely planned and balanced. So that, in this thesis we will focus on briefly
Local Economic Development (LED) concept and then we will evaluate Turkey's various
Local Economic Development applications. We will also give an example of one of local
development actor, municipalities, as Eskişehir Municipality that we could compare if
municipality's development strategy matches with country's development strategies. Various
books, articles, theses, statistical data and electronic sources were used to create the content of
this thesis and to confirm its validity.
Keywords
Local Economic Development Concept, Local Economic Development, Turkey, Eskisehir Municipality
Keywords in English
Local Economic Development Concept, Local Economic Development, Turkey, Eskişehir
Municipality
Length of the covering note
127 p.
Language
AN
Annotation
Local economic development (LED) is progressively being implemented by developing
countries and has shifted from being a development approach pursued only by industrialised
nations. Academic interpretation of LED prioritises strategies based on ideas of grassroots
and bottom-up development. These ideas are centred on the self-reliance of communities as
well as on highlighting the benefits of creating partnerships with different actors for local
development. In most developed countries, nationally based developmental models are based
on, in Turkey we usually do not care about local differences, a structure that tries to reveal
local residents by determining the center. However, one of their great importances to the
development process of the Republic, the government policies are towards the improvement
of inter-regional income distribution. In fact, such policies increase the importance of regional
development models in parallel with the increasing globalization of competition. In particular,
since the distribution of natural and social resources of country on the country's geography is
not identical in absolute terms, local and national development also requires policies and
plans that are absolutely planned and balanced. So that, in this thesis we will focus on briefly
Local Economic Development (LED) concept and then we will evaluate Turkey's various
Local Economic Development applications. We will also give an example of one of local
development actor, municipalities, as Eskişehir Municipality that we could compare if
municipality's development strategy matches with country's development strategies. Various
books, articles, theses, statistical data and electronic sources were used to create the content of
this thesis and to confirm its validity.
Annotation in English
Local economic development (LED) is progressively being implemented by developing
countries and has shifted from being a development approach pursued only by industrialised
nations. Academic interpretation of LED prioritises strategies based on ideas of grassroots
and bottom-up development. These ideas are centred on the self-reliance of communities as
well as on highlighting the benefits of creating partnerships with different actors for local
development. In most developed countries, nationally based developmental models are based
on, in Turkey we usually do not care about local differences, a structure that tries to reveal
local residents by determining the center. However, one of their great importances to the
development process of the Republic, the government policies are towards the improvement
of inter-regional income distribution. In fact, such policies increase the importance of regional
development models in parallel with the increasing globalization of competition. In particular,
since the distribution of natural and social resources of country on the country's geography is
not identical in absolute terms, local and national development also requires policies and
plans that are absolutely planned and balanced. So that, in this thesis we will focus on briefly
Local Economic Development (LED) concept and then we will evaluate Turkey's various
Local Economic Development applications. We will also give an example of one of local
development actor, municipalities, as Eskişehir Municipality that we could compare if
municipality's development strategy matches with country's development strategies. Various
books, articles, theses, statistical data and electronic sources were used to create the content of
this thesis and to confirm its validity.
Keywords
Local Economic Development Concept, Local Economic Development, Turkey, Eskisehir Municipality
Keywords in English
Local Economic Development Concept, Local Economic Development, Turkey, Eskişehir
Municipality
Research Plan
The aim is to evaluate the rate of utilization of the concept local economic development in Turkey, to analyze the local potential sources and ways for this development, to evaluate the socio-economic, cultural and geographical impacts at the local level and to propose the suitable steps for support the strengthening the local economy.
Outline:
- The characteristic of the concept local economic development.
- The analysis of the local potential in the social, cultural and economic areas.
- The creation and evaluation suitable indicators for assessment of the level of development.
- The evaluation of municipal strategy for local economic development.
- The proposal of appropriate steps for empowering local economy of Eskisehir.
Research Plan
The aim is to evaluate the rate of utilization of the concept local economic development in Turkey, to analyze the local potential sources and ways for this development, to evaluate the socio-economic, cultural and geographical impacts at the local level and to propose the suitable steps for support the strengthening the local economy.
Outline:
- The characteristic of the concept local economic development.
- The analysis of the local potential in the social, cultural and economic areas.
- The creation and evaluation suitable indicators for assessment of the level of development.
- The evaluation of municipal strategy for local economic development.
- The proposal of appropriate steps for empowering local economy of Eskisehir.
Recommended resources
BLAIR, J. P., CARROL, M. C. Local Economic Development. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2009. ISBN 978-1-4129-6483-8.
BLAKELY, E. J., LEIGH, N. G. Planning Local Economic Development: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2010. ISBN 978-1-4129-6093-9.
OECD Delivering Local Development: New Growth and Investment Strategies, Paris: OECD Publishing, 2013.
SWINBURN, G., GOGA, S., MURPHY, F. Local Economic Development: a Primer Developing and Implementing Local Economic Development Strategies and Action Plans. Washington D.C.: The World Bank, 2006.
Recommended resources
BLAIR, J. P., CARROL, M. C. Local Economic Development. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2009. ISBN 978-1-4129-6483-8.
BLAKELY, E. J., LEIGH, N. G. Planning Local Economic Development: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2010. ISBN 978-1-4129-6093-9.
OECD Delivering Local Development: New Growth and Investment Strategies, Paris: OECD Publishing, 2013.
SWINBURN, G., GOGA, S., MURPHY, F. Local Economic Development: a Primer Developing and Implementing Local Economic Development Strategies and Action Plans. Washington D.C.: The World Bank, 2006.