THE SYNERGY BETWEEN SUBSECTOR COMPETITIVENESS AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF TURKEY AND THE TOMATO SUBSECTOR

Abstract This study develops a conceptual model of the institutions and key factors that facilitate competitiveness on the national and subsector level and then determines how linkages between the factors that enhance competitiveness and regional development can be created. Turkey and the Turkish tomato subsector provided the case to test this model.Regional development, sustainable competitiveness, tomato processing industry, Turkey, industry clusters, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Competitiveness of Turkeys Organic Exports in the European Union Market

Turkeys exports of organically produced agricultural products have been rapidly growing particularly in response to increasing demand in the European Union countries. Common view and findings of the research on organic trade in Turkey confirms that European market is expanding. A lacking component of the existing research on Turkeys organic exports is that none of the studies focused on modeling the export market for organic products which would enable to make forecasts as well as to make analysis for policy implications. Another missing component of the stream of studies on trade of Turkish organic commodities is the lack of understanding of the present situation of the competitiveness of Turkish exports in the European Union market. The study therefore focuses on estimating an econometric export demand function for organic products and exploring the competitiveness and export performance of Turkish exports as well as understanding the components of export performance. An effort to estimate an econometric export demand model for Turkeys organic exports and revealing sources of export performance and competitiveness is what makes the present study a unique one. The project has three major objectives and thus seeks to produce three outputs: The first objective is to estimate an export demand model for Turkish organic products in the European Union market. It is therefore possible to estimate price and income elasticities of demand as well as to make projections. The second objective is to explore Turkeys export competitiveness in organic products in the European Union market. It order to fulfill this objective, we will estimate indices to measure Turkeys competitiveness. The third objective is to investigate export competitiveness and determine the components of export performance. Through constant market share analysis, we seek to determine the key factors underlying the growth or Turkeys organic exports. The study reveals that export demand for the Turkish organic products are growing and sensitive to price and income changes in target countries. Turkey has a clear comparative advantage against the rival EU countries in selected products. Competitiveness is particularly due to relative prices, thus does not indicate a sustainable competitiveness due to lack of added value in the export items.Organic Agriculture, Turkish Agriculture, Export Demand, Competitiveness, Turkish Organic Exports, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,

THE SYNERGY BETWEEN SUBSECTOR COMPETITIVENESS AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF TURKEY AND THE TOMATO SUBSECTOR

Abstract This study develops a conceptual model of the institutions and key factors that facilitate competitiveness on the national and subsector level and then determines how linkages between the factors that enhance competitiveness and regional development can be created. Turkey and the Turkish tomato subsector provided the case to test this model

Consumer Willingness to Pay for Organic Products in Urban Turkey

The objective of the paper is to present the preliminary results of the survey project whose aim is to explore the Turkish consumer's perceptions regarding food safety and the tradeoff they make between chemical residues and cosmetic quality in fresh fruit and vegetable marketing chain. Previous research in Turkey contends that Turkey organic food exports are growing and that there is a small but growing domestic market. A lacking component of the prevailing studies is that none of the studies have focused on the cosmetic quality component of organic products. Another aspect that is missing in the previous studies is that it is not possible to make inferences for the Turkish urban consumers due to designs in sampling and population definition. The aim of the project will be fulfilled by estimating a representative sample of Turkish urban consumer's willingness to pay for reduced chemical residues in food and the tradeoff they make between cosmetic quality and food safety. The data is obtained through consumer focus group studies and consumer surveys with a representative sample of Turkish urban population. Higher income and educated individuals show more interest and have more knowledge regarding organic products. The choice for organic products is due to consumer perception that organic products have higher nutritional value and carry low health risk. It is also found that consumers do not perceive that organic products have higher prices than conventional counterparts. Consumer willingness to pay for products with organic labels and certified products is up to 36%, thus representing a strong demand potential for organic products in Turkey's urban markets

An assessment of the technology level and knowledge intensity of regions in Turkey

###EgeUn###The paper investigates the patterns of technology and knowledge of the regions. The first aim of the paper is to determine cluster templates at the national level. The second aim of the paper is to investigate the technology and knowledge composition of the regional highpoint clusters. The paper identifies patterns of industrial linkages to define cluster templates and regional highpoints. The second part uncovers regional distributions of technology and knowledge. The data comes from Turkey's 2012 input-output table. The location quotients use industrial employment statistics from the Turkish Statistical Institute. The technological and knowledge intensity classification follows Eurostat. The findings reveal 10 cluster templates in Turkey. Spatial distribution of the highpoint clusters reveals that most regions contain highpoint clusters with low technology and low knowledge-intensive sectors. The results reveal that highpoint clusters in Turkey's regions contain industries whose technologies do not demand high skills, knowledge and sophistication. Limited existence of high-tech industries and low knowledge intensity in Turkey's industry composition is a limiting factor for transition to high value-added manufacturing. Special emphasis should be directed towards constructing regional advantage, given the current levels of technology and knowledge intensity

Social Capital and Turkish-German Academic Linkages

This study investigates linking social capital aspect and transnationality of academia through networks via European Framework Programme (FP5, FP6, FP7) ICT projects in which i) Turkey is coordinator and Germany is partner, ii) Germany is coordinator and Turkey is partner, iii) both Turkey and Germany are partners. Social Network Analysis results depict that in European FP ICT projects where Turkey and Germany collaborated, social capital in Turkey increased. Transnational network linkages provided basis and opportunities for knowledge transfer, innovation networks, and formation of social capital. Further research will analyze social capital creation of the institutions in Turkey and Germany individually

CONSUMER WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR REDUCED PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN TOMATOES: THE TURKISH CASE

The paper investigates the Turkish consumers' willingness to pay for a label that guarantees that pesticide residues in foods do not cause health problems. Contingent valuation survey was conducted to 1005 randomly selected households to elicit tomato purchasing behavior under alternative prices and residue scenarios. A tobit model was used to estimate a demand model. To determine the probability of purchase, a probit model was estimated

Social Capital and Turkish-German Academic Linkages

This study investigates linking social capital aspect and transnationality of academia through networks via European Framework Programme (FP5, FP6, FP7) ICT projects in which i) Turkey is coordinator and Germany is partner, ii) Germany is coordinator and Turkey is partner, iii) both Turkey and Germany are partners. Social Network Analysis results depict that in European FP ICT projects where Turkey and Germany collaborated, social capital in Turkey increased. Transnational network linkages provided basis and opportunities for knowledge transfer, innovation networks, and formation of social capital. Further research will analyze social capital creation of the institutions in Turkey and Germany individually