Special Feature on social, economic, and spatial impacts of COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

Abstract

This Special Feature investigates the social, economic, and spatial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey and highlights the factors differentiating Turkey from the other countries. The articles contributing to this Special Feature are classified into three main parts. The first group of articles addresses spatial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey with a specific focus on the place-based factors affecting the spread of the pandemic, the determinants of pandemic-induced changes in intracity mobility, and the use of social media to forecast commercial real estate figures during COVID-19. The second group of articles investigates the social and economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and diversely affected economic sectors in Turkey. These articles analyze the vulnerability and resilience of regions and diversely affected economic sectors with a specific focus on the housing market that displays an opposite trend to international tendencies regarding transaction volumes and private rental housing prices. The third group of articles considers the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from an international perspective. These articles analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international trade with a specific focus on exports and the fragility of the global trade structure and network in the framework of global value chains. Analyzing the impacts of COVID-19 from different perspectives, the articles in this Special Feature reveal the factors differentiating Turkey from the other countries and highlight the challenges.