The Political Economy of Inequality and Boom-Bust Cycles in Turkey: Before and After the Great Recession

Abstract

There has been a remarkable continuity in the main characteristics that determined the growth regime in Turkey over the last two decades despite seemingly significant political changes. This neoliberal speculation and finance-led growth regime has proved to be both socially and economically unstable, as shown by the post-Great Recession developments as well as the recent history of Turkey which is marked by regular boom-and-bust cycles. In the recent global crisis, Turkey experienced one of the severest recessions in 2009 --- deeper than that observed in other major emerging economies. The recovery since 2009 is as fragile as before. In the last decade insecurity has increased among all segments of the working people bar the poorest. Turkey's growth model dependent on cheap labour, speculative financial capital inflows, a construction boom and a high trade deficit, would have experienced a crisis sooner or later even without the impact of the Great Recession.