Commentary/Esen Çağlar: How can fiberoptic cables reduce migration from the east to the west? TEPAV Economic Policy Analyst Esen Çağlar assessed the services sector-based development potential of Erzurum taking departure from Turkcell's research project that investigated the local economic impact of its call center in the city.

Çağlar said:

"I do not know about politics, but technology definitely has the power to make dreams come true. Let’s say that you are in Istanbul and you want to order kebab from the restaurant two blocks away. You pick up the phone and a young employee in Diyarbakır receives your order. The same person receives an order for sushi for a restaurant in Ankara and diverts the order to that restaurant. Maybe that employee also records the appointments made for a hospital in Arbil.

Ten years ago, having this job would have been only a dream for this young person. Now, this dream has come true. He or she now has an alternative option to migrating to Istanbul, which is 1,363 kilometers away from home, and working as a waitperson in a restaurant there. Call centers prove that the desired leap in the eastern parts of Turkey can be accomplished via the service sector, creating a new window of opportunity for the young population living there. Of course, call centers are not the formula for development, but they offer an interesting case through which a new perspective about the service sector and the relevant infrastructure can be developed."

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