Local economic resilience in urban-rural context: the case of districts in Turkey

Regional economic resilience (RER) is a specific term to define the set of abilities that a region can resist disruptions, display a prompt rebound and re-configure its structure to adapt to a (new) superior long-term equilibrium.Many empirical studies have quantified the degree of resilience of regions, and the underlying determinants.From another perspective, the urban-rural distinction is a pivotal phenomenon in spatial studies.It is noteworthy that the differences between urban and rural areas have not yet been sufficiently examined in a resilience context, which may include far different dynamics and policy implications.The aim of this study is to explore the differential resilience behaviours and determinants across urban, rural, and mixed areas.The dataset covers 973 districts of Turkey and the 2018-2023 period that includes both the currency crisis (in 2018) and the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-onwards).Having applied a wide range of empirical methods (spatial and non-spatial regressions), we reach two main conclusions.First, semi-urban districts are observed to be the most resilient type whereas the megaurban districts are observed to be the most fragile.Urban and rural areas exhibit similar behaviour.Second, the resilience drivers are group specific rather than common.At the same time industrial diversity and structure are crucial for rural and semi-urban areas.Demographic structure and human capital are significant for urban districts, and trade openness is critical for the mega-urban areas.Therefore, each urbanization group has different dynamics that require local and place specific policies.