Impact of universities in regional (Local) economic development: Afyon Kocatepe University example

Universities are one of the building blocks of socio-economic development as well as their scientific functions in all countries. The importance of the region in which universities are established in particular is increasing gradually, with many contributions to the development of the country in economic, technological, social, and cultural aspects. Universities have direct and indirect contributions to the economy of the region where they are established, and these contributions are examined from two perspectives: income and employment. Many domestic and foreign studies reveal that universities have an important role in the development of the regions where they are located. The aim of the study is to examine the income and employment contributions of Afyon Kocatepe University to the economy of Afyonkarahisar, together with the survey that deals with the expenditures of Afyon Kocatepe University students, their thoughts on the people of the region and the university. In this context, in this study, a questionnaire was applied to 384 undergraduate and associate degree students studying at Afyon Kocatepe University in the 2018-2019 academic year and analyzed with the SPSS 22.0 program. As a result of the survey, it was determined that the first two items that the students spent the most were accommodation expenses and nutrition expenses, and the item they spent the least was energy expenses. The amount of expenditure of students and their total share in expenditure items vary according to gender. Male students spend more than female students. According to gender, male students' expenditures on other expenditure items, excluding education, clothing, and personal care expenditures, are higher than female students. The average monthly income of the students was 1621.92 TL, and their average monthly spending was 1651.42 TL. Since the number of students enrolled in the university is 36774, according to these data, the annual indirect income contribution of the students to Afyonkarahisar was calculated as 513.604.806 TL. In addition, it has been estimated that 1916 direct employment, 1872 indirect employment, 13.199.177 TL indirect income with budget expenditures, 83.161.034 TL direct income contribution with personnel expenditures to the region where the university is located.