ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION
IN TURKEY
AHMET ŞEVKİ SOYDAN
ASSEM KYSSYKOVA
CEVAT ERKİBAŞ
HAKKI SEMİH KOKULAR
MERVE ÇELEBİ
SEMRA ÇAĞAN
Outline
 General Information and Statistics About Education in Turkey
 Education Spending
 Impact of Education on Turkish Economy
Education
 an essential tool to promote economic development
 development of human capital
 development of economic growth
 improving skills
 increasing productivity
Three Important Milestones of Turkish
Education
 The Law on Unification of Education (1924)
 Alphabet Reform (1928)
 Village Institutes (1940s)
The Law on Unification of
Education (1924)
Educational Facilities in 1923 (Population: 12 million)
Primary
Secondary
High School
Technical School
School
4,894
72
23
64
Teacher
10,238
796
513
583
Student
341,941
5,905
1,241
6,547
Student Rate %
2.8
0.05
0.01
0.054
Total
5,053
12,13
355,634
2.96
Source: Sakaoğlu,1992
The Law on Unification of Education
 The unification in the educational system was brought about by the
acceptance of “Law of Unification of Education” in the Parliament on
March 3, 1924.

The aim was to get rid of the duality in the system continued to exist
during the initial period of the Republican Era.
Alphabet Reform (1928)
At the time of Alphabet Reform:
 Population: 14 million
 Only a little more than 1 million could read (% 7.9)
 Over 80 per cent of the population was living in villages
 There were about 3,200 primary schools, with 5,600 primary teachers
 It was crucial to have a modern
and easy alphabet to increase
the literacy rate of the
population and to integrate with
the West
 As a result; Arabic alphabet was
replaced with Latin alphabet
Village Institutes (1940)
Village Institutes (1940)
 The main function of the village institutes was to train the
primary school teachers
 These schools were totally unique to Turkey
 They were the cornerstones of the rural development project
 Village Institutes were established to meet the need for teachers
of each village.
 Despite their short life, they highly increased the number of
primary schools in the country.
The number of students in the Village Institutes
The number of teachers in the Village Institutes
Educational Statistics
Literacy Rate in Turkey Between 1950-2010
Gross Enrollment Ratios by School Levels
120
100
Primary School
80
Secondary School
High School
60
Tertiary
40
20
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2012
Education Level of Turkish Population (TÜİK, 2013)
1%
0,3%
5%
11%
Illiterate
7%
Literate but not graduate
from any school
Primary school graduate
Secondary school graduate
22%
28%
5%
Highschool graduate
Undergraduate
Graduate
PhD
Number of Universities in Turkey (Private vs State)
Education Spending
 Education spending covers expenditure on schools, universities
and other public and private educational institutions.
 Education spending also includes instruction and ancillary
services for students and families provided through educational
institutions.
Education Spending – Turkey vs OECD
Education Investment Between 1963-2005
Education spending (Primary to non-tertiary / Tertiary, US dollars/student, 2012)
What Proportion of National Wealth is Spent on Education?
 The proportion of education expenditure relative to GDP depends
on the different preferences of various public and private actors,
 Nevertheless, expenditure on education largely comes from public
budgets and is closely scrutinized by governments.
Public Expenditure on Education by Countries from 1970 to 2009
Sectoral Distribution of Government Expenditures (1,000 TL)
Spending on R&D
 Spending on R&D is one of the most important indicators of
conformation and development on science and technology
 The share of R&D spending in GDP of Turkey is very low
 R&D activities are carried out largely within the frame of private
companies and with the cooperation of universities
Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D
as a percentage of GDP
A Comparison of R&D spending
The challenge:
 Ensuring effective allocation of funding
Recent policies and practices:
 The Campaign of 100% Support for Education,
 Financial support of private and non-governmental organizations,
 100% tax deduction for contributions
Education Projects
 Meslek Lisesi Memleket Meselesi (KOÇ)
 Kardelenler (Turkcell)
 Baba Beni Okula Gönder (Aydın Doğan Vakfı)
 Ana-kız Okuldayız (M.E.B)
Education & Economic Development
Lucas Model
 Y = Ka(hL)1-a
 h denotes human capital
 Main difference between Solow and Lucas is the increasing returns to scale
 In this model the most important part of the human capital is education. Educated
citizens will more likely accommodate with new technology and working conditions and
make it possible to have an increasing returns to scale
 The more education the more human capital the faster growth rate
Employment with respect to Education Level
Education Impact on Women’s Participation
 As the education level increases, female labor force participation rate also
increases
 June 2014, female participation rate: 69,5 (university graduate)
female participation rate: 17,4 (illiterate)
 Since women mostly work at agricultural sector, rate of unregistered
employment is higher than men,
 As the female education level increases, labor force participation and
employment will increase accordingly
Labor Force Participation Rates by Gender
Education Impact on Women’s Labor Force Participation
Return on Educational Investment
Return on Educational Investment
Return on Educational Investment
Income Level by Education
References
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https://data.oecd.org/education.htm
http://data.worldbank.org/topic/education
https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?kn=130&locale=tr
Taş, U. & Yenilmez,F.(2007) '' TÜRKİYE’DE EĞİTİMİN KALKINMAÜZERİNDEKİ ROLÜ VE EĞİTİM
YATIRIMLARININ GERİ DÖNÜŞ ORANI''
TUIK, Kazanç Yapısı Araştırması
Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Araştırmalar Merkezi (BETAM) Araştırma Notu 14/160 Kadın İş
Gücü Piyasasında Çarpıcı Gelişmeler, Seyfettin Gürsel, Gökçe Uysal, Ayşenur Acar
T.C Maliye Bakanlığı Yıllık Ekonomik Rapor 2014
SOSYAL VE BEŞERİ BİLİMLER DERGİSİ Cilt 1, Sayı 2, 2009 ISSN: 1309 -8012 (Online)
BEŞERİ SERMAYENİN EKONOMİK GELİŞME ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİLERİ DÜNYA DENEYİMİ VE TÜRKİYE
ÜZERİNE GÖZLEMLER
Kadir ESER, Muğla Üniversitesi, İ.İ.B.F. İktisat Bölümü, Kötekli Kampüsü, Muğla
Çisel EKİZ GÖKMEN, Muğla Üniversitesi, İ.İ.B.F.
http://sgb.meb.gov.tr/www/mill-egitim-istatistikleri-orgun-egitim-2014-2015/icerik/153
OECD- Education At a Glance 2014
"Türkiye'de Eğitim Yatırımları ve Ekonomik Büyüme İlişkisi"- Doç. Dr. Muharrem Afşar, 2009
Thank you