Turkey: From Sick Economy to Vibrant Economic Workhorse
Posted on 20. Mar, 2012 by Ayesha Villalobos in Business and Economy
By Ayesha Villalobos
While traditional powers have been afflicted with financial crisis and economic debacle, Turkey a newly emerging economy have been boldly demonstrating its drive towards economic boom, which guarantee power of varying degrees to each in and around their respective regions and all over the world. An overwhelming confidence created by growing trade and investment, which has not been witnessed since the 1990s escalated the aspirations of countries from the Caribbean to China, and from Africa to the Middle East to become a new centre of economic power.
CHINA
China has emerged as a global economic power in recent years with the role it plays as an exporter of both cheap manufacturing products and capital, and it has a growing assertiveness to become regional power.[1] Furthermore, China has quickly caught up with the American technology to maintain its economic strength. On the other hand, unlike the South American countries, China’s regional power pursuit has territorial disputes around the China Sea. China interprets its global economic gains based in military upgrading and armament and as a result it ignites a flame of conflict between itself and other regional countries like Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines and Vietnam, which also have territorial
claims in and around the China Sea. Therefore, these circumstances represent an imminent threat to China’s projection as an acknowledged regional economic power.
LATIN AMERICA
Brazil regarded as the regions’ “heavy weight”. With the regional growth in investment and export of basic products it has turn into a superstar economic contender in the region. Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Colombia, And Chile turned out to be runner ups in this bunch. Nonetheless, the sustainability of the new power assertion of these countries is eclipsed and endangered by the excessive and prevalent income disparity in their domestic economies even though the fastest economic growth rates were achieved. Thus, if economic growth in due time is translated into fair sharing of welfare and social advancement , South America’s potential is very promising to become a regional economic power to the world
India
Notwithstanding the central differentiation in their power and systematical characteristics, India is regarded to be in the same guild with China as a newly emerging global/regional power. India is a high growth economy with strong technological and knowledge foundations. There are pervasive points of view that India may outpace China in the coming years due to its rapid population growth. India accumulating additional manpower annually to the labor force than the shrinking China may benefit the costs advantages that China loses in its exports. However, India still has the lack of modern and efficient infrastructure to qualify as a regional power. It has lengthy inefficient road, energy and ports infrastructure; even though it has been extensively taking part in telecommunications, technology, out sourcing, garments and textiles, heavy industry and agriculture. It is still suffering from shortage of skilled labor in the face of its huge population. It still could not defeat domestic problems such as corruption, health and poverty. India also has the shadow of regional political and territorial disputes over its quest as a regional economic power. Above all, India’s growing insurgencies in nearly ten states with Kashmir in the forefront will never be able to achieve peace and harmony a pre-requisite for economic growth.
TURKEY
For the last 6 years there has been an increasing certainty in the world that among other emerging countries, Turkey plays a more significant role, primarily because it is on the periphery of Europe geographically and on the periphery of the European Union (EU) politically and it has propinquity to the Middle East and North Africa as well as to the Caucasus and the Central Asia. Turkey does not have any territorial arguments of these geographies, where it has a profound historical relationships and influence. Turkey has been cementing its relations with the Middle East region since the 1980s and has maintained its relations with the Caucasus, the Central Asia and the Russian Federation after the cold war. Hence, the decade starting with the 1990s connotes a period of new economic influence for Turkey for it has implemented the opportunity of producing policy in spite of the economic and political tumult it experienced with in 1990s.
In recent years the Turkish foreign policy has engaged more foreign missions on improving relations at global and regional levels, establishing firm foundations for mutually beneficial, institutional, political, economic and social engagements with countries in a broader geographic spectrum. The promotion of trade, business contracts and public tenders in the countries of the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and the Pacific region has become one of the most vital foreign policy mechanisms for the last eight years; while the aim for the Turkish business sphere has been an extensive broader coverage of operations.
Turkey has a performing market economy and the financial discipline to enhance this achieved macroeconomic stability since 2001. The Turkish economy has an embedded vitality. The country is ruled by democracy and it is with conformity and respect to international treaties and institutions while presentating a growing awareness to improve relations with its regional neighbours.
Five years of continuous economic growth from the period between 2002 and 2007, particularly for the last two years, which are marked as the era of one of the worst global financial crisis, Turkey has become “the fastest growing sizable economy” in the world amongst the newly emerging countries. With a population of approximately 74 million people it has recently transformed into a manufacturing and service economy with export competitiveness practiced over diversified geographic areas. Today it is the 16th largest economy in the world with $760 billion total and with $10,270 per capita income. The GDP growth in 2009 was 7.9% despite the economic and financial upheavals in the world. Inflation drastically decreased to 6.4 percent by the end of 2010, down from 30 percent in 2002, while the EU-defined general government nominal debt stock fell to 41.6 percent from 74 percent in a period of eight years between 2002 and 2010. Hence, Turkey has been meeting the “60 percent-EU Maastricht criteria” for the public debt stock since 2004.
As the GDP levels more than tripled to USD 736 billion in 2010, up from USD 231 billion in 2002, GDP per capita soared to USD 10,079, up from USD 3,500 in the given period.
The visible improvements in the Turkish economy have also boosted foreign trade, while exports reached USD 114 billion by the end of 2010, up from USD 36 billion in 2002. Similarly, tourism revenues, which were around USD 8.5 billion in 2002, exceeded USD 20 billion in 2010.[2]
Turkey’s macroeconomic stability has been guaranteed for the last 8 years despite the unpredictability of the world market. Turkey resolutely maintained its economy on the right path in the absence of the IMF support, refusal to accept against any further borrowing from the Fund since 2008. Due to its successful domestic and the international performance of the economy, Turkey has completed its global financial amalgamation with the capability to circumvent the effect of the global financial crises since 2008. Hence, Turkey because of its excellent credit standing has been gaining from favourable rates of international borrowing.
Turkey decided to diversify its industrial structures, which is attuned to the European standard of safety, quality, packaging, and shipping, with its production, the corporate system has been amended and improved in accordance to the EU standards to be qualified to become an EU member. However, in the face of the EU’s economic upheaval Turkish community loses its appetite for EU’s accession. Whilst such opinion may hold, uncertainty. Therefore it is wiser for Turkey to confine its role to a powerful economy, rather than an economic or political power, since uncertainties require prudential and cautious approach.
[1] “China’s Balancing Hand”, The World in 2011, The Economist:136
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Ayesha Villalobos
Turkey: From Sick Economy to Vibrant Economic Workhorse | Opinion Maker | My Marketing File
20. Mar, 2012
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Admiral I A Sirohey
21. Mar, 2012
It all boils down to honesty, dedication, selfless devotion, knowledge and participation of the nation united.
Those states fail which rulers greedy, selfish and ignorant. We are where due to having such rulers.
Captain Allen V Cox
21. Mar, 2012
Turkey also holds booming tourisism & vacation Business of which
http://www.yachtshangri-la.com being just small part in the cog!
This vast wonderful Coastline just full of "historic sites" from
Istanbul to Mersin water so clear and warm it is without doubt a
"Paradise"
Afriq
21. Mar, 2012
let me get this right:
"In recent years the Turkish foreign policy has engaged more foreign missions on improving relations at global and regional levels, establishing firm foundations for mutually beneficial, institutional, political, economic and social engagements with countries in a broader geographic spectrum. The promotion of trade, business contracts and public tenders in the countries of the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and the Pacific region has become one of the most vital foreign policy mechanisms for the last eight years; while the aim for the Turkish business sphere has been an extensive broader coverage of operations.
The country is ruled by democracy and it is with conformity and respect to international treaties and institutions while presentating a growing awareness to improve relations with its regional neighbours."
Really?
What Turkey has and is doing in LIBYA & SYRIA is TERRORISM and it is disgusting revolting and INSANE BARBARITY.
Yes we gave Turkey OUR support for their stance against the perfidious + nefracious insanity of the israHELLIs
but we will not support Turkey naTo barbarity in Libya or Syria and Ms Ayesha Villalobos if your "heart is vibrating for Muslim unity and creation of a Muslim Common Market that YOU refer to as ‘Ummah" than you should do the same and not gloss Turkey's insane barbarity
"Similarly, tourism revenues, which were around USD 8.5 billion in 2002, exceeded USD 20 billion in 2010."
Nor will we support the Tourism. IT IS OUR UMMAH AND IF ONE HURTS ALL OF US HURT
ALLAH MAUMMAR WA LIBYA WA BESS
We thank Russia, China + the ALBA nations for stopping another war
naTo shield?
Jen
22. Mar, 2012
Turkey should forget its Ottoman empire aspirations and concentrate on establishing economic links with the poorer and less democratic central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) if it wants to leave a lasting legacy of stability and progress in its neighbourhood. Erdogan should also offer assistance to Greece, even though it is not an EU member, to help that country overcome its debt problems and restructure its economy.
It should use its membership in NATO to argue AGAINST infiltrating Syria and Iran and NATO warmongering. A war in Syria and Iran will destabilise Turkey's economic progress and lead to increased military expenditure which will only encourage Greece to spend more on its military and so make the Balkans area restless.
Khalif
22. Mar, 2012
The biggest and most destructive force in the Ummah is the scum who call themselves – LEADERS the whole BLOODY lot of them
they have no qualities WORTHY to call themselves leaders. they have vibrant intelligent dinamic rich RESOURCE at their disposal and what do they do?
DESTROY, DESTROY, DESTROY – that is ALL the scum self appointment and in a few cases elected have done.
This is what Turkey took part in and it is YOUR duty to report facts:
http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=672:constructing-consensus-the-victims-and-aggressor-meme&catid=25:alerts-2012&Itemid=69
Constructing Consensus – The 'Victims-And-Aggressor Meme'
Journalists are supposed to tell the truth without fear or favour. In reality, as even the editor of the Independent acknowledges, MPs and reporters are ‘a giant club’.
Together, politics and media combine to provide an astonishingly consistent form of reality management controlling public perception of conflicts in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. Alastair Crooke, founder and director of Conflicts Forum, notes how the public is force-fed a ‘simplistic victims-and-aggressor meme, which demands only the toppling of the aggressor’.
The bias is spectacular, outrageous, but universal, and so appears simply to mirror reality. Ahmad Barqawi, a Jordanian freelance columnist and writer based in Amman, said it well:
‘I remember during the “Libyan Revolution”, the tally of casualties resulting from Gaddafi’s crackdown on protesters was being reported by the mainstream media with such a “dramatic” fervor that it hardly left the public with a moment to at least second-guess the ensuing avalanche of unverifiable information and erratic inflow of “eye witnesses’ accounts”.
‘Yet the minute NATO forces militarily intervened and started bombing the country into smithereens, the ceremonial practice of body count on our TV screens suddenly stopped; instead, reporting of Libyan casualties (of whom there were thousands thanks only to the now infamous UNSC resolution 1973) turned into a seemingly endless cycle of technical, daily updates of areas captured by NATO-backed “rebel forces”, then lost back to Gaddafi’s military, and again recaptured by the rebels in their creeping territorial advances towards Tripoli…
‘How is it that the media’s concern for human rights did not extend to the victims of NATO bombing campaigns in the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Sirte? How come the international community’s drive to protect the lives of Libyan civilians in Benghazi lost steam the minute NATO stepped in and actually increased the number of casualties ten-fold?’
It is a remarkable phenomenon – global media attention flitting instantaneously, like a flock of starlings, from one focus desired by state power to another focus also desired by state power.
But the bias goes far beyond even this example. The media’s basic stance in reporting events in Libya and Syria has been one of intense moral outrage. The level of political-media condemnation is such that media consumers are often persuaded to view rational, informed dissent as apologetics for mass murder. Crooke writes:
‘Those with the temerity to get in the way of “this narrative” by arguing that external intervention would be disastrous, are roundly condemned as complicit in President Assad's crimes against humanity.’ They are confronted by the ‘unanswerable riposte of dead babies – literally’.
TJ
07. Apr, 2012
The writer has very objectively viewed the evolutionaly process of Turkey It is a model for those who strike a balance their priorities.