Effects of regional development and investment incentives on employment: An application in Van province textile sector

This thesis aims to examine the effects of regional development policies and investment incentives implemented in the textile sector of Van province, located in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, on employment. Although Van province is a regional province known for its hand-woven carpets, wool products, and other textile products, it faces economic development and unemployment problems. This study emphasizes the importance of regional development policies and analyzes the effects of these policies on the labor market for companies operating in the textile sector in Van province. The effects of regional development policies and investment incentives implemented in the textile sector in Van province on textile companies were examined. In terms of research type, both descriptive and causal research designs were used in this study. Data were collected in the research using the survey technique. The survey form used in this research was taken from the study of Ağar (2022). The survey form consists of 28 questions. The data of the research were collected in May 2024. The data collected through the survey forms in the research were transferred to the IBM SPSS 26 program and the analyzes of the research were carried out on this program. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used in the analyses. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used for difference analyses between groups. Relationship analyses were conducted using the Chi-Square test. Statistical significance was sought at a 95% confidence interval. As a result of the research; 45 companies responded to our survey and the following findings were reached as a result of the research. It was concluded that almost all textile companies in Van benefit from at least one type of incentives, and that they benefit the most from employment and investment type incentives. It was concluded that textile companies benefit the most from the incentives of Development Agencies, KOSGEB and the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, and that the most frequent support type they receive is by far the insurance premium employer share support. They think that especially the insurance premium employer share support and tax reduction support reduce costs, and that the most important advantage of investment incentive policies is that they reduce labor and other costs and bring out new investment ideas. Textile companies in Van expect to be supported at every stage of their investments. It was concluded that the investments received by textile companies in Van make a positive contribution to their staying in the region and continuing their investments. It has been found that investment incentives have made a significant contribution to the growth of the textile sector in the province, as the incentives have brought movement to new sectors in Van province, the incentives have attracted investment to Van province, the incentives have reduced unregistered employment, the incentives have increased the number of personnel and created employment, and the incentives have reduced the tax burden. In particular, tax reductions and incentives that encourage the establishment of new businesses have helped increase employment in the labor market. Regional development policies aim to increase the number of workers by encouraging the growth of local businesses. These policies stand out as an important tool for the economic development of Van province and the increase in employment levels. Key Words: Regional Development, Investment Incentives, Government Support, Van Quantity of Page: 82 Supervisor : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Celal KIZILDERE