Searching for the impact of network connectivity on borrowing performance: The case of Turkey

Abstract

The decline in quality of life in major cities and the rise of secondary cities is a globally observed trend and has significant impacts on economic development and urban planning. It is known that the agglomeration economies and advantages created by major cities stand out in terms of both economic growth and urban performance. In this context, concepts such as agglomeration shadow and borrowed size are important in explaining center-periphery interactions and as important factors affecting the growth and development of peripheral areas. While major metropolises such as Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara in Turkey play a decisive role in the country's economy, surrounding cities are dependent on these centers for economic growth and development. However, concentration of resources and investments in single or specific points may cause agglomeration shadows in surrounding areas. On the other hand, strong network connectivity between metropolitan and secondary cities may enable secondary cities to borrow performance or function; This can facilitate secondary cities' access to resources, investments and knowledge. This thesis study aims to test the hypothesis that the network connectivity between second-tier and metropolitan cities in Turkey enables second-tier cities to improve their urban performance by borrowing size through these networks. In order to discuss the concepts of "borrowing size" and "borrowing performance", it will be interpreted whether secondary cities exhibit a performance beyond their population size by being included in networks. The term "size" in the context of "borrowed size" is a bit ambiguous because it can relate to both the functions and economic activity found in larger cities as well as the performance level associated with larger cities. With multiple regression analysis, it was determined which parameter affects secondary city performance the most among the variables of network connectivity, size and distance to first-tier cities. Within the scope of the research, two models were prepared, and in the first model, the urbanized area population of the provinces was used for the size parameter, and the distance of the provinces to the closest one of the Istanbul-Ankara- Izmir trio was used for the distance parameter. Network connectivity was measured by provincial data, with the number of domestic and international cargo transported by air and total export parameters. Secondary city performance was measured by the Socio-Economic Development Index of Provinces prepared in 2017. The secondary city performance index, chosen as the dependent variable, includes not only economic activities and functions, but also social, cultural, environmental and infrastructural parameters that measure the liveability of the city. As seen from studies in the literature, major cities with large populations have an advantage, and secondary cities benefit from their proximity to these metropolitan cities. By examining the impact of independent variables (network connectivity, size and distance) on the dependent variable, urban performance, it will be investigated to what extent network connectivity complements the economies of urbanization and whether a network-based performance can be borrowed beyond the factors of size and proximity. The contribution of the study is to empirically investigate how network connectivity can function as a catalyst for the development and prosperity of secondary cities in Turkey and whether there is an advantage to being in a network beyond size.