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This study has examined the results of SOE policy by comparing two provinces in Turkey, one that was a would-be beneficiary of this policy and the other not. Statistical data and anecdotal evidence from in-depth interviews show that the SOEs increased labor costs, discouraged private entrepreneurship and guided locals to political, rather than productive solutions to their economic problems; regional development in the province in which SOEs dominated the regional economy was hindered. These results are in line with the reported outcomes of SOE policy adopted by Italian governments in order to promote development in southern Italy.

Externalities and equity are the two major arguments failures that provide justification for government intervention in education. Supporters belive that the intervention will correct these failures. This paper seeks answers the following two questions in the context of Turkey: (1)Is empirical data supporting the arguments for government intervention? (2) Is government intervention correcting failures? A survey of previous studies and the other evidence show that (1) empricial data is far from supporting the arguments that justify government intervention and (2) government intervention is creating its own failures.