R&D EXPENDITURES - GROWTH NEXUS IN TURKEY

Technological development and investment in knowledge seem to be very important in order for countries to demonstrate effective growth performance. The first concept that comes to mind when investing in information is the R&D activities. In the past, efforts to develop in countries for years can be realized within months nowadays and technological developments have rapidly changed and can be worn out in a short period of time. Therefore, it can be said that the information economy is the speed economy. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between R&D expenditures and GDP in Turkey for the period 1996-2014 with the help of VAR analysis. Before the study, it was determined whether the series were stationary by Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Peron (PP) unit root tests and it was determined that the variables of GDP and R&D expenditure were stationary in the level values. According to the results of variance decomposition and effectresponse functions; It is seen that the effect of GDP changes in Turkey on R&D expenditures is negligible. However, it is seen that R&D expenditures are significantly affected by the changes in GDP.