ECONOMIC INDICATORS AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT: REGIONAL BASED EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS IN TURKEY

Abstract

The relationship between economic growth and housing construction sector activity has been under scrutiny internationally for more than five decades. This study seeks to add to this literature by exploring the economic drivers of housing construction activity in Turkey. The case study is important for three reasons: first, this analysis is one of the rare studies to have been undertaken in an emerging market context; second, as in many global markets, there is considerable spatial variation in activity across the country and, in a manner that is replicable for European markets, we have addressed this phenomena by combining insights generated by undertaking analysis at different spatial scales (NUTS levels); third, we offer a strategy that might be replicated elsewhere for measuring construction activity in the absence of housing starts and completion data. The results of our analysis suggest that rather than being a function of uneven economic growth, much of the variation in construction activity might actually be a consequence of land use regulation, proactive planning and other public policy interventions at local and national level.