252,016 research outputs found
The European Transformation of Modern Turkey. CEPS Paperback. September 2004
No full textThe outcome of a research project carried out by CEPS and the Economics and Foreign Policy Forum (EFPF) of Istanbul, this book examines in detail the challenges and opportunities that would arise with Turkey’s full membership of the European Union. The authors, consisting of both Turkish and West European experts, address such controversial issues as Turkey’s cost to Europe, the potential for economic convergence and the implications of Turkish membership for the future of Europe. The authors also identify the areas where a closer cooperation between Turkey and the EU in advance of full membership would be advantageous for both parties. They focus with this aim on a set of measures ranging from ‘virtual membership’ in certain policy areas to more specific transition policies. In short, this book gives a clear picture about the nature of the topics and the issues that would dominate full membership negotiations with Turkey
Public policy and private investment in Turkey
No full textDeveloping countries trying to emerge from recessionary spirals must recognize the importance of public/private interactions in designing growth oriented adjustment programs. They must appreciate the complex impact of fiscal policy on the economy. Turkey is an interesting country for studying how public policy can stimulate private investment. The reason, is that unlike other high debt countries, Turkey has managed to increase the rate of investment in recent years despite external constraints and high real interest rates. Turkey's strategy nevertheless has limits. The surges in public investment in 1986 and 1987 have since hurt macro stability. Private investment has tilted toward such non-tradables as housing - partly as a result of special credit schemes directed at mass housing and partly because housing investment is an attractive investment against inflation. Unless corrected, this shift could hurt future export prospects.Financial Intermediation,Trade and Regional Integration,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies
On the Wind Energy in Turkey
No full textIncrease in negative effects of fossil fuels on the environment has forced many countries, including Turkey, to use renewable energy sources. Today, clean, domestic and renewable energy is commonly accepted as the key for future life, not only for Turkey but also for the world. As wind energy is an alternative clean energy source compared to the fossil fuels that pollute the atmosphere, systems that convert wind energy to electricity have developed rapidly. Turkey is an energy importing country, more than half of the energy requirement has been supplied by imports. Turkey's domestic fossil fuel resources are extremely limited. In addition, Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of wind power. In this context, renewable energy resources appear to be one of the most efficient and effective solutions for sustainable energy development and environmental pollution prevention in Turkey. Since wind energy will be used more and more in the future, its current potential, usage, and assessment in Turkey is the focus of the present study. The paper not only presents a review of the potential and utilization of the wind power in Turkey but also provides some guidelines for policy makers.Wind power; Renewable energy; Turkey
Turkish Delight for Some, Cold Turkey for Others?: The Effects of the EU-Turkey Customs Union
No full textFollowing Turkey’s application for EU membership in 1987, a Customs Union (CU) between Turkey and the EU, mainly covering trade in manufacturing goods and processed agricultural products, came into effect in 1995. In addition to a large agricultural sector, Turkey also specializes in the production and exportation of relatively low-price, low-quality varieties of manufactured products. We use a theoretical framework in order to demonstrate that these features of the Turkish economy imply asymmetric changes in the trade volumes of the incumbent countries of the EU as a result of the EU-Turkey CU. By examining disaggregated trade data we find that the technologically sophisticated EU countries (e.g., mainly the Northern European countries) are also least similar to Turkey in terms of their export structure, whereas the degree of export similarity between the less technologically sophisticated EU members and Turkey is high. Our econometric results indicate that, in contrast to the “Northern” group’s exports to other EU15 countries (which have remained intact), the Southern countries’s exports to the other EU15 countries have declined as a result of the EU-Turkey CU. Moreover, the extra penetration of the Turkish market by EU countries has not been more favourable to the Southern group. These findings also imply that technologically sophisticated countries may see no significant further benefits from Turkey’s full accession to the EU (whereas the migration and political influence related costs for these countries may be large).European Union, Turkey, customs union, exports, gravity, differentiated products
Western images of Turkey in the twentieth century
No full textWhile the general idea is to demonstrate how non-Western culture has been
represented by a Western one, the particular aim of the thesis is to offer an analysis of
twentieth century images of Turkey in the West mainly through the texts of thrillers
and travel accounts. Since Turkey has generally been treated as a Middle Eastern
country in terms of geography, culture and religion in those texts I have randomly
selected, the negative images of Turkey and the Turks have been examined from a
non-European point of view taking into account Michel Foucault's analysis
interpreted by Edward Said. In order to provide a better understanding of the texts
studied in the thesis, there is a brief presentation of the history and development of
travel writing and popular fiction as distinct literary genres in the Introduction.
Moreover, as the thesis demonstrates that there are a great number of direct or indirect
references to historical representations of the Turks identified with the Ottomans, a
chronological account of early images is made in the first chapter. These images can
be summed up under such general headings as 'Lustful' and 'Terrible' Turks or a
combination of both. The analysis of contemporary images of Turkey has been
undertaken separately in ensuing chapters. While the images of violence are discussed
in the second chapter, the images of the exotic which appear in the third, and the
fourth chapter deals with first impressions of Turkey and the Turks. The thesis, which
concludes with a discussion of the evolving process of Turkish stereotypes from
verbal to visual towards the end of the twentieth century, suggesting that there are also
other discourses in the media, particularly in the cinema worth examining as they also
construct and perpetuate the negative image discerned in the selection of the texts
February 2001 Crisis in Turkey: Causes and Consequences
No full textTurkey has suffered from different economic crises since 1990. However, the February 2001 crisis has been unprecedented in intensity and repercussions. Although many factors, both internal and external, may have contributed to their occurrences, the former owing to their inducing corruption and waste in the economy, seem to have fomented them more than the latter. Although Turkey has been getting transformed into a market economy since 1980, government intervention is still pervasive in its economy. Government still controls Central Bank, owns commercial banks, and operates public enterprises. It has liberalised market, currency, foreign trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), but still operates sectors like energy, sugar and tobacco. Such a level of state intervention had adverse implications for corruption, waste, effective reforms, etc. in the country. Further, since the transformation of the economy could not be accompanied by concomitant structural, legal and institutional reforms in 1990s, resources have constantly been misused over the years. Further still, groups owning bank, media and holding companies jointly have notoriously precipitated domestic financial crisis by stashing away the home deposits in their offshore branches. Finally, supporting agriculture and industry with politically-motivated credit for voting purposes has constantly been aggravating the drain of resources and thereby financial crises of the country. This paper attempts a critical examination of how such factors may have contributed to the occurrence and accentuation of economic crises suffered by Turkey over the last decade.
Back to enmity : Turkey-Syria relations since the Syrian Uprising
No full textExamines the drivers of the return of Turkey-Syria relations to enmity, specifically the Turkish response to the Syrian Uprising. Looks also at Turkish policy in Syria, notably its support for radical Islamists fighting Asad and its policy toward the Syrian Kurds and ISIS. Turkey's bid for regional hegemony has faltered as a result of its overreach, particularly in the Syria crisisPeer reviewe
Regional Disparities and the Performance of Peripheral Regions in Turkey
No full textThe aim of this paper is to analyse interregional disparities and the performance of peripheral/less-developed regions in Turkey regarding the current tools of regional policies. During the planning period in Turkey, two main goals are defined as ‘maximizing national income' on the one hand, and ‘reducing interregional disparities' on the other. In 2002, in order to establish the statistical database harmonized with the regional statistical system of EU, classification of NUTS regions has been completed. After that, the State Planning Organization (SPO) prepared a “Regional Development Strategy, Objectives and Operational Programs†especially for the 10 Level-2 regions which are mostly less developed regions and located in the east, as a road map in order to direct regional development activities in Turkey. Later, Development Agencies in the center of NUTS regions were established to facilitate development objectives of the regions. The aim of this paper is to re-examine the regional disparities under the light of the new process. Mostly the studies on regional disparities considered economic dimension and the results indicate that the distribution of GDP per capita highlights the eastern-spatial peripherality of regional development pattern in Turkey. Previous study of author emphasizes two significant points for regional policies. First, there is evidence of a strengthening of a two-regime spatial division in the country; secondly, there would appear to be little evidence of positive spill-overs from the more-developed to the less-developed parts of the country. Therefore, in this paper, evolutions of regions in terms of their performances will be examined since 1980. The main questions of the paper are: “which regions can be defined as winners and losers?â€Â, “is there any differentiation among less developed regions?â€Â. Furthermore, we try to explore the factors which underlay the aggregate trends of the regions in Turkey, since we know the importance of region-specific policies. The findings of the analyses would be discussed with respect to new regional policies in Turkey.
The Future of Turkey-EU Trade Relations: Deepening vs Widening. CEPS EU-Turkey Working Papers No. 5, 1 August 2004
No full textOwing to the EU-Turkish customs union, there is already a considerable degree of convergence between Turkey and the EU in the area of trade. In fact, Turkey is the only candidate country that has a customs union with the EU. At least with respect to the trade in goods, Turkey is almost part of the Single Market. The challenge of enhancing the present state of trade integration could be approached in two ways. First, the customs union could be deepened by refining the arrangements and addressing its shortcomings. Secondly, the degree of trade integration could be enhanced by incorporating areas such as services and agriculture – thus widening the customs union – which is also explored in detail. The paper concludes that the Turkish-EU customs union has been a technical success overall and functioned on a sound basis. Nevertheless, both parties should work flexibly towards eliminating trade defence measures and forging a more comprehensive framework of trade integration
Private Tutoring Expenditures in Turkey
No full textThis is the first study on private tutoring in Turkey. Private tutoring especially for the purpose of preparing for the competitive university entrance examination is an important, widespread phenomenon in Turkey. Private tutoring centers are commonly referred to as “dersane” in Turkish. This study first gives an overview of private tutoring centers. Next, it examines the determinants of private tutoring expenditures in Turkey using the results of the 1994 Household Expenditure Survey. The determinants examined within a Tobit model framework include total household expenditure, education levels of parents and other household characteristics. Such analysis of the household behavior of attempting to provide better education to their children will highlight the determinants of the demand for education and the intergenerational transfers in Turkey.Private tutoring, education, demand for education
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