KAMU-ÖZEL İŞBİRLİĞİ’NİN BÖLGESEL KALKINMA VE EŞİTSİZLİK ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİLERİ

Düriye  TOPRAK; Murat   BELKE

doi:10.63127/tuaz.by.215

THE EFFECTS OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP ON REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INEQUALITY

Authors

Assoc. Prof. Düriye Toprak

Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8335-3386

Assoc. Prof. Murat Belke

Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3299-7162

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63127/tuaz.by.215.c135

Synopsis

Over the past three decades, Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) have become an innovative governance instrument for financing and delivering public services. Mounting fiscal pressures, infrastructure needs, urbanization, and competitive dynamics have pushed governments beyond traditional finance. In this context, PPPs enable the state to retain its regulatory role while leveraging private finance and operational expertise. While infrastructure's positive growth effects are acknowledged, new economic geography highlights how transport and energy networks enhance accessibility, accelerate regional integration, and reshape the spatial distribution of economic activity. Thus, PPPs function not only as financing devices but also as strategic policy tools catalyzing regional transformation. However, their rapid diffusion has triggered debate. While PPPs may stimulate regional development and employment, the concentration of projects in high-demand corridors can amplify spatial inequality. Distributional effects are context-dependent: accelerated growth may reduce inequality, whereas high user charges and guarantee payments can adversely affect lower-income groups. This study outlines the historical evolution and objectives of PPPs, then examines their impacts on regional development and income distribution through conceptual discussion and empirical findings, offering recommendations for future policy design.

Author Biographies

Assoc. Prof. Düriye Toprak, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University

Assoc. Prof. Düriye Toprak serves as a head of department / faculty member at the Department of Finance, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, Türkiye. Toprak completed undergraduate education at Süleyman Demirel University in the department of Finance in 2003, master's education at Süleyman Demirel University in the department of Finance in 2006, and Ph.D. degree from Süleyman Demirel University in the field of Finance in 2014. Primary research interests include public finance, finance theory, budget and financial planning, local governments. Toprak has national and international articles and book chapters published in Turkish and English.
E-mail: dtoprak@mehmetakif.edu.tr | ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8335-3386

Assoc. Prof. Murat Belke, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University

Assoc. Prof. Murat Belke serves as a faculty member at the Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, Türkiye. Belke completed undergraduate education at Istanbul University in the department of Economics in 2004, master's education at Akdeniz University in the department of Economics in 2007, and Ph.D. degree from Akdeniz University in the field of Economics in 2014. Primary research interests include monetary policy, fiscal policy. Belke has national and international articles and book chapters published in Turkish and English.
E-mail: mbelke@mehmetakif.edu.tr | ORCID: 0000-0002-3299-7162 | Scopus ID: 55999229600