Growth vs Development

 

In Turkey, the concept of economic growth is perceived as an indicator for the increase in national income. Moreover, it has been identified with the construction sector for the last 20 years. New roads, huge shopping malls, towers, housing projects… Each is presented as a symbol of economic prosperity. But there is a point that is overlooked here; growing is one thing, developing is another.

Growing, if not based on innovation, only expresses a nominal increase. Yes, for a while, a positive atmosphere occurs in the economy with the income increase provided by growth. However, as Prof. Dani Rodrik puts it, growth models that are not based on innovation are episodic. In other words, it ends with a crisis in the end. Development through growth is possible with a permanent increase in social welfare, quality of life, scientific and technological progress.

You can grow with the construction sector, but you cannot develop without making inventions. To better explain this, let's give an example; You can increase the volume of a balloon when you blow it. If you continue to blow, the balloon will burst at some point. However, if you can find a new chemical formula that will increase the durability of the balloon and allow the balloon to inflate without bursting, your growth model will be more permanent.

Production is of course important, but what distinguishes economies from others and makes them unique in the market are inventions. When we look at the countries that have a say in the world economy today, they all have a common feature: They are making new inventions for more efficient and higher quality production. They are always at the top in patent numbers, R&D investments, scientific publications and technology exports.

In other words, these countries are not only consuming information and technology, but also producing it. Competitive Advantage: Hidden in the Technology You Have Absolute competitive advantage in the global economy is possible by having know-how technologies. By producing a product, you can provide the most price competition. However, inventions not only provide a technical advantage, but also an economic protection shield. In this way, the value of your product in the market increases, and you differentiate yourself from your competitors.

For this reason, the driving force of long-term economic development has always been inventions. Increasing production volume can boost short-term economic data. However, a sustainable increase in prosperity is possible with a human-centered, knowledge-based and innovation-oriented economic structure. This also requires having a human resource with the ability to produce technology.

Who Produces Technology? All developed countries are the leading countries in high-tech product exports. The common feature of countries such as South Korea, Germany, Japan, the USA and China is that they can raise educated and creative individuals. Thanks to these individuals, new ideas are constantly being produced, these ideas are commercialized and find a place in the global market. In other words, the issue is not just setting up a factory; it is to have brains that think about what will be produced in that factory, how it will be produced and how it will be sold to the world. From this point, the importance of education becomes even more apparent. Not only school enrollment rates or exam successes, but also the content and quality of education are of great importance. Individuals who are curious, questioning, and analyzing instead of memorizing can only be raised with a qualified education system. For this reason, investment in education is the most valuable investment in the future.

2023 Patent Application Numbers (According to WIPO Data)

Country	Patent Application Number
China	1.640.000
USA	518.364
Japan	414.413
South Korea	287.954
Germany	133.053

 

But Education Alone is Not Enough Seeing education as a magic wand would also be misleading. Because it is not enough for a person to be equipped with knowledge in order to reveal his creative potential. At the same time, he needs to feel free and safe. If an individual is afraid of being punished while expressing his thoughts; if he is forced to self-censor even while dreaming, no invention will come out of it. Innovation is only possible with freedom.

Hope is also needed. If people do not have hope for the future, creativity and motivation will decrease. In an anxious society, the individual only tries to save the present, he cannot show the courage to build the future. That is why not only the economic, but also the legal and political ground must be strong. Structural Reforms: The Key to Real Development At this point, the concept of "structural reform" comes into play. Making long-term and permanent arrangements in areas such as education, justice, politics, and the economy is the basis of real development.

But these reforms are not easy. Because its fruits are not immediately obtained, it takes time. It is not attractive for political actors stuck in the election cycle. Therefore, it is often postponed and ignored. It usually comes to the agenda after economic crises, when it is inevitable. However, for healthy development, these reforms should be made before the crisis, not during the crisis. Structural reforms; It includes establishing legal systems that guarantee the rights of the individual, creating a merit-based public administration, raising political ethical standards, updating the education system, expanding freedoms and establishing social trust. Every improvement in these areas will have a positive impact on all segments of society.

Why Are Young People Leaving? The biggest common reason for young people migrating abroad from Turkey is neither money nor unemployment. Not feeling safe, not feeling free and not having hope for the future. As long as you cannot provide these, open as many universities as you want, establish technoparks, and give R&D incentives. Those young people will go to evaluate those opportunities in other countries. For this reason, it is necessary not only to build physical infrastructure, but also to strengthen the mental and institutional infrastructure. Roads, bridges, airports are of course important. But the real strength of a country is its human resources that can produce thought. And this human resource can reveal its potential only when it feels not only knowledgeable, but also free, safe and hopeful.

Conclusion: The Real Way to Build the Future For Turkey to develop, it needs to produce new ideas rather than new buildings. If we want to build the future, we must first open space for thought, put people at the center