The Turkish economy has witnessed many ebbs and flows in the past two decades.
The economic crisis of 2000/1 led to the collapse of the Turkish lira and the banking sector, resulting in a new standby agreement with the IMF in 2002. This period also ushered in an era of structural reform under the auspices of the late Minister of Economic Affairs, Kemal Derviş. In politics, the crunch coincided with the rise of the AKP in the 2002 elections and a period of stability. In part due to the previous reforms, Turkey weathered the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. However, the country is now facing another predicament with growing inflation and devaluation of its currency. The new cabinet following the May 2023 elections is working on renewed efforts of stabilization.
This panel will reflect on the Turkish political economy since the Kemal Derviş era in the early 2000s. It will address questions related to the legacies of the reforms, the contributions of Kemal Derviş to public policy, and the future of the Turkish economy. The panel will also assess the impact of the IMF, international loans and transnational links in relation to economic stability and crisis.
Speakers:
G. Kemal Ozhan (@galipkemal) is a Senior Economist at the Bank of Canada and a Research Economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He worked as a research associate at the Brookings Institution from January 2012 to September 2013, and as an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of St Andrews from September 2016 to August 2019.
Selva Demiralp (@SelvaDemiralp) is Professor of Economics at Koç University. She is also the Director of the Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum, and a founding partner at Ethos Economics Consulting. Formerly, she worked as an economist at the Federal Reserve Board between 2000 and 2005.
Sinan Ülgen (@sinanulgen1) is the director and founding chairman of the think tank Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) in Istanbul. He is also a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe in Brussels and managing partner of the consultancy Istanbul Economics. Ülgen was formerly a Turkish diplomat who served at the Turkish delegation to the EU in Brussels and in Tripoli.
Chair:
Yaprak Gürsoy (@ygursoy) is Professor of European Politics and Chair of Contemporary Turkish Studies at LSE.
More about this event
The European Institute (@LSEEI) is a centre for research and graduate teaching on the processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe.
Contemporary Turkish Studies focuses on the politics and economy of Turkey and its relations with the rest of Europe. The programme aims to promote a deeper understanding of contemporary Turkey through interdisciplinary and critical research, teaching and related public activities.
Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSETurkey
*Header image: iStock, photo ID:1411969087, credit:anilakkus.