Calculation of Human Development Indices in Turkish Provinces. A Comprehensive Panel Dataset for the 2009- 2018 Period
Nadide Yiğiteli, Devran ŞanlıThe human development index was designed in 1990 to evaluate countries’ development levels within the framework of UNDP. Following this, a series of indices were developed to analyze the different dimensions of human development. While these indices make intercountry comparisons, they do not allow evaluation at a local level. However, determining human development at the local level has great importance. For this purpose, using UNDP methodology, four different indices were calculated at the province level covering the period between 2009 and 2018. In this respect, a comprehensive data set is presented to the literature. The results show that, although provinces have progressed in all aspects of human development, they have not yet been able to reach a very high human development category. The primary factor restraining human development levels is found to be low degrees of education in the provinces. Although regional and gender inequalities both in education and in income distribution have decreased, they are nonetheless still quite high. The most developed provinces by the HDI index are Ankara, Istanbul, and Kocaeli, whereas the lowest provinces are Van, Şanlıurfa, and Ağrı. By the inequality-adjusted HDI no province has as yet reached a very high human development level. While the minimum loss due to inequality was seen in Muğlathe province, the highest loss is in Hakkari.
Türkiye’de İllere Göre İnsani Gelişme Endekslerinin Hesaplanması: 2009-2018 Kapsamlı Bir Panel Veri Seti
Nadide Yiğiteli, Devran ŞanlıBirleşmiş Milletler Kalkınma Programı çerçevesinde ülkelerin kalkınmışlık düzeyini değerlendirmek amacıyla 1990 yılında insani gelişme endeksi oluşturulmuştur. Sonraki yıllarda ise insani gelişmenin değişik boyutlarını analiz eden farklı endeksler geliştirilmiştir. Söz konusu endeksler ülkeler arasında bir karşılaştırma yapmakta iken yerel düzeyde değerlendirmeye imkân vermemektedir. Diğer yandan, Türkiye özelinde illerin insani gelişme durumlarının her yönüyle tespit edilmesi büyük önem arz etmektedir. Bu amaçla çalışmada, UNDP metodolojisini kullanarak, 81 il düzeyi ve 2009-2018 dönemini kapsayan bir süreç için dört farklı endeks oluşturulmuştur. Bu yönüyle, literatüre geniş ve özgün bir veri seti sunulmaktadır. Sonuçlar incelendiğinde, insani gelişmenin her alanında illerin ilerleme gösterdiği ancak çok yüksek insani gelişme kategorisine ulaşılamadığı görülmektedir. İnsani gelişme değerlerini baskılayan temel etken ise illerin düşük eğitim düzeyleri olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Eğitim ve gelir dağılımı alanlarında bölgesel eşitsizlikler ve cinsiyet eşitsizlikleri, azalmasına rağmen hala oldukça yüksek seviyelerdedir. HDI endeksinde en gelişmiş iller Ankara, İstanbul ve Kocaeli; en alt sıradaki iller ise Van, Şanlıurfa ve Ağrı olarak tespit edilmiştir. Eşitsizlik uyarlanmış HDI endeksinde ise hiçbir ilimiz çok yüksek insani gelişme düzeyine ulaşamamaktadır. Eşitsizlik kaybının en az olduğu il Muğla iken en çok olduğu il ise Hakkari’dir.
The human development index was designed in 1990 to evaluate the development level of countries within the framework of the United Nations Development Program. In the following years a series of indices were developed which analyze different dimensions of human development. However, determining all aspects of human development levels within each province is of great importance, in particular in Turkey. The reason for this is that , for developing countries, geographical distribution is as important as the speed of development. Moreover, the source of Turkey’s many socio-economic problems is the unequal distribution of development among regions.
In this respect, the main aim of this paper is to investigate the human development differences between provinces. For this purpose, HDI, IHDI, GDI and GII indices covering the period between 2009 and 2018 were calculated for 81 provinces. The methodological approach taken in this study is based on UNDP. The importance and originality of this paper are that it presents a comprehensive and original data set to the literature. This is the first study thus far to establish a panel dataset for Turkey’s provinces. The data were collected using official databases.
When the results are analyzed, the most obvious finding is that, although provinces have progressed in all aspects of human development, they have not yet been able to attain to a very high human development category. Moreover, the main factor that increases the level of human development was identified in our study as the health index.
The second major finding is that the main factor which limits the level of human development is the inadequate education level within the provinces. In addition, men received 28.5% more education than women. Although regional and gender inequality in education and income distribution have decreased, they are still quite high. While the average income gap between the genders is 242%, the income gap rises to 505% at the regional level. Gender inequality also stands out in education. According to the provincial average, men received 1.29 times or 28.5% more education than women. In the light of the literature which shows that the main determinant of income per capita is education level, a 28.5% education gap between genders reflects an approximate income gap of 242% . The most developed provinces in the HDI index are Ankara, Istanbul, and Kocaeli; the lowest-ranked provinces are Van, Şanlıurfa, and Ağrı. In the inequality-adjusted HDI index, no province reaches a very high level of human development category. In this context, four provinces, Ankara, Kocaeli, Muğla and Istanbul, are classified in the high human development category, whereas other provinces are classidied in the medium human development category. Muğla has the lowest loss of inequality, while Hakkari has the highest loss.
According to the GDI index in the sample period, in terms of men and women acquisitions, none of the provinces could be included in the first group. Almost all of the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolian provinces are in the fifth group with the lowest level of equality.
In the GII index, the top five provinces with the lowest gender inequality are Istanbul, Rize, Bursa, Tunceli, and Ankara. In these provinces, the loss of human development due to inequality between men and women was the lowest. By contrast, the first five provinces with the highest gender inequality are Bitlis, Kilis, Gaziantep, Adıyaman, and Muş. According to the findings of our study, the most difficult region for women in cultural, social and economic life is Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia. The primary reasons that have restrained the gender inequality index values were found to be the lack of women’s place in political representation and in the labor market.
Taken together, Turkey’s strategy to achieve a better level in all human development dimensions should not only be to improve income distribution at the regional and gender level but should also be to focus on policies aimed at stimulating an advanced level of women’s education and political participation. When considering the findings, Turkey’s policymakers should construct regional policies to support women and disadvantaged regions in education, income, health and other dimensions of human development.In order to reduce the existing gender inequality, measures should be taken to increase the enrollment rates of women in all education levels, especially higher education, and to pave the way for women’s participation in the labor market.
