Network Governance for Competitiveness: The Role of Policy Networks in the Economic Performance of Settlements in the Izmir Region

Abstract

Some cities and regions grow faster than others and they increase their relative shares in the global economy. The literature offers a wide list of factors of competitiveness, most of which define individual capacities of cities. Recently, however, there has been an increasing focus on the importance of network governance and the policy networks formed between different cities. This paper examines the importance of policy networks compared with other widely recognised factors of competitiveness to the economic performance of settlements in the Izmir region and investigates the importance of classical competitiveness indicators and network relations on their economic performance with the use of econometric methods. In conclusion, it discusses the importance of policy networks in administrative reform processes and economic development policies.

The Uses of Social Network Analysis in Planning: A Review of the Literature

“…SNA has been used in economic development to help understand networks of policy and practice and to facilitate complex projects involving multiple jurisdictions and actors from the public and private sectors. For example, Eraydin et al, (2008) used SNA in conjunction with econometric methods to model and evaluate the development of ''policy networks'' consisting of both governmental and nongovernmental actors among various cities and towns within the Izmir region of Turkey. Such networks were considered important in augmenting existing government infrastructure or in some cases providing that infrastructure when government institutions did not.…”

“…The issue is not that current conceptions are wrong but rather that they may be incomplete, especially in ''non-agglomeration'' regions. This in turn leads to the creation of policies and programs that yield inconsistent results and a lack of policies and programs that address critical network-building needs like those identified in the Izmir region (Eraydin et al 2008). Further empirical studies on the spatial and social dimensions of innovation and economic activity using SNA represent a critical need in advancing a more complete understanding of regional economies and improving the policies and practices of regional economic development.…”

“…A second challenge to both planning practitioners and academics concerns the training of planners in the concepts and methods of SNA. As illustrated in the discussion of Eraydin et al (2008), SNA is more than simply a method to be applied after the data are collected. A full appreciation of the SNA perspective will help shape the research design and data collection activities as well.…”

The Role of Government Policies and Strategies Behind the Shrinking Urban Core in an Expanding City Region: The Case of Izmir

“…Figure 1 shows this change from 1990 to 2000, during which employment growth moved from the metropolitan area to its periphery, and a growth in the number of peripheral settlements began. By the 2000s, a series of major new centres of growth had appeared at the outskirts of the (Eraydın et al, 2008a(Eraydın et al, , p. 2297. While the provincial boundary of Izmir identifies a larger area than the New Izmir Metropolitan Area, as is the case with many rapidly growing regions in the world, it does not represent fully the increasing interconnectivity and functional integration of the metropolitan area with the settlements in itsperiphery, which required the identification of the Izmir City Region for research purposes.…”

Different Forms of Governance: Responses of Two Metropolitan Regions in Turkey to State Restructuring

“…Actors in these new urban and regional governance systems and the different partnerships and coalitions that exist within them have been the subject of many studies. Moreover, the debates putting governing agency (Gissendanner 2004, 46), coalitions (Lauria 1995), strategic alliances (Gulati 1999;Lorange and Roos 1992), and networks (Eraydin et al 2008) at the core of new forms of governance have been the main issues of studies with considerably different theoretical perspectives. Besides in recent years there has been growing interest in explaining the changes in the modes of metropolitan or urban governance by exploring national trajectories, specific political factors, and spatial manifestations of socioeconomic transformation processes (Krueger and Savage 2007;Salet, Thorley, and Kreukels 2003).…”