turkISh emIgrAtION ANd ItS I mplICAtIONS 133
has been advanced here, it has been retarded there, and so on. Compare, for
instance, Yozgat and Denizli,^3 two traditional emigration areas since the early
1960s – although, at the most macro and general level, the positive economic
and social impact of emigration is obvious, differences also exist. There is
evidence of a positive relationship between emigration and development for
Denizli, but not for Yozgat; remittances led mostly to an increase in small and
medium-sized business start-ups in Denizli, but they mainly contributed to an
agricultural expansion in Yozgat; remittances reduced inequality in Denizli,
but increased it in Yozgat; emigration and remittances have substantial effects
on poverty reduction and investment in both Yozgat and Denizli, but a strong
development impact for Denizli, and a moderate one for Yozgat.
As emphasised by Abadan-Unat (1986: 365), emigration has been one of
most powerful vehicles of social change in Turkey, but a lack of foresight
and adequate planning has, to a certain extent, led to a waste of human and
f inancial resources. Probably, this evaluation is true for the whole period of
emigration f lows from the country. However, one should not underestimate
the ongoing importance, and probably the positive contribution, of emigra-
tion for the country: one can only imagine what would have happened to
Turkey if remittances had not f inanced two-thirds of the country’s trade
def icit in the 1990s; or what would happen to the unemployment problem
in the country if the 3 million expatriate Turkish citizens were suddenly
to return home; or even what would happen to the relationship between
European countries and Turkey, in the context of the country’s possible
membership ties to the EU, if the bridging or breaching role of Turkish
immigrant communities there did not exist (Kaya & Kentel 2005).
References
Abadan-Unat, N. (2002), Bitmeyen Göç: Konuk İşçilikten Ulus Ötesi Yurttaşlığa [Unending migra-
tion: From guestworkers to transnational citizenship]. Istanbul: Bilgi University.
Abadan-Unat, N. (1997), ‘Ethnic business, ethnic communities, and ethno-politics among Turks
in Europe’, in E.M. Uçarer & D.J. Puchala (eds.), Immigration into western societies, 227-251.
London: Pinter.
Abadan-Unat, N. (1986), ‘Turkish migration to Europe and the Middle East: Its impact on the
social structure and social legislation’, in L. Michalak & J. Salacuse (eds.), Social legislation
in the contemporar y Middle East, 325-369. California: Institute of International Studies.
3 Based on the f indings of several studies conducted in these provinces over time; see, for
instance, Abadan-Unat et al. 1976; Ayhan et al. (2000); Day & İçduygu (1997, 1998, 1999); Penninx
(1982).