The relationship between social capital and regional development: Calculation of social capital index for nuts 3 of Turkey

The concept of social capital has become the focus point of both science and economics towards the end of the 20th century and has increased its importance gradually. In this study, the concept and development of social capital is explained and the relationship between social capital concept and regional development is analyzed. After discussing the impact of social capital on regional development, social capital level in Turkey is determined with the data of the components of social capital. Principal component analysis is used to calculate the social capital index for Turkey's provinces for the years 2011, 2015 and 2017. By using these index values, the provinces are compared both in terms of gross value added per capita and socioeconomic development index. As a result of the comparison, it is concluded that the provinces with high social capital value are developed both in production and socioeconomic terms. Key Words: Social Capital, Social Capital İndex, Regional Development, Principal Component Analysis