Technological Change in Turkish Manufacturing Industry: The Case of Gaziantep City

Abstract

:Ensuring competition in global economy, the production of high value products within the country and the reduction of current budget deficit; in other words, increasing the output of industries manufacturing intermediate goods and end products, which have high import dependency, are major targets of Turkey. The state of technological infrastructure of manufacturing industry in the country as well as the process of change that the industry undergoes are essential for the realization of these targets. New technologies play an important role in the competitiveness and economic development of cities, region and the country in the international market. In particular, the use of new technologies in manufacturing industry and companies’ capacity for innovation are prerequisites for businesses to enter a tougher competition in the global economy as well as for cities and countries to persevere on the larger scale. In this respect, the main purpose of this study is to examine the technological transformation of the manufacturing industry in Gaziantep, which is positioned in the top five among Turkey's exports and employs a considerable work force, in comparison to the technological change experienced by the manufacturing industry in Turkey. In the study, the technological level of manufacturing industry in Turkey and the technological change process of manufacturing industry in Gaziantep are presented between 2009-2016 with key indicators. The findings of this study reveal that the current level of technology the city of Gaziantep manufacturing industry has had is far behind the level Turkish manufacturing industry has reached.