Remembering Ziya Müezzinoğlu

Altınbaş University and Turkish Foundation for Economic and Financial Research (TEMAR) organized a panel titled “Fiscal and Economic Policies of the Republic” in memory of Former Minister of Finance Ziya Müezzinoğlu. 

The fiscal and economic policies implemented in the 100-year history of the Republic of Türkiye were discussed by Economist Dr. Mahfi Eğilmez and Retired Ambassador Uluç Özülker. The event was moderated by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Hasan Eken, President of the Foundation and attended by Prof. Dr. Çağrı Erhan, Rector of Altınbaş University, Tevfik Altınok, Honorary President of TEMAR Foundation and Undersecretary of the Treasury, members of the board of directors and academicians. 

Economist Dr. Mahfi Eğilmez shared important details in the panel about how and which policies Türkiye has followed in the economic sense in the process from the Ottoman Empire until today. Stating that in a 100-year history, although economic successes have been achieved, these successes could not be sustained, Altınbaş University Faculty Member Dr. Eğilmez reminded that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk achieved important successes in the years when the Republic was founded. Eğilmez continued his words as follows:

"First of all, we need to look at what we took from the Ottoman Empire when the Republic of Türkiye was founded. In 1923, Türkiye's gross domestic product was 577 million dollars. Per capita income was 45 dollars. Today, we are at 1.1 trillion dollars and per capita income is 13 thousand dollars. Our foreign trade, exports were 51 million dollars, today they are 250-300 billion dollars, imports were 87 million dollars, today they are 300 billion dollars. Our foreign trade deficit is 37 million dollars. The capitulations were abolished, but according to the Lausanne Treaty, we had to continue the import regime from the Ottoman Empire for 5 years. It took until 1929 for these to be abolished. That is why Türkiye had a foreign trade deficit. Then in 1929, Türkiye started to follow appropriate policies and the foreign trade deficit disappeared.  Only 5 percent of the population coming from the Ottoman Empire could read and write. There was no industry, we could not catch up with the industrial revolution. We had very primitive methods in agriculture. When we look at the factories built during Atatürk's reign, there are 46 major investments. This is an incredible breakthrough in such a short time."

Reminding that 2005 was a turning point in Türkiye's economic sense, foreign capital came after the EU full membership talks and the country experienced the “Dutch Syndrome”, Eğilmez said, “I divide the Republican period into two, we have a successful period, the Atatürk period. There were occasional successes in the following periods, but they could not be sustained. 2005 was a turning point for Türkiye; the EU entered into full membership negotiations mutually. In 2006, Türkiye received 22 billion dollars of foreign capital in just one year. Between 1925 and 2005, the total foreign capital coming to Türkiye was 15 billion dollars. Between 2005 and 2010, a total of 72 billion dollars of foreign direct capital came to Türkiye and Türkiye experienced the Dutch syndrome. There was plenty of foreign currency inflow. We felt rich and spent a lot of money, but we could not make good use of this wealth."

Underlining that Türkiye emerged from every crisis within a year and that the main problem is not the economic problem, Eğilmez mentioned that the loss of confidence is a bigger problem. Reminding that the economy should now move away from politics, Eğilmez said:

"We have many problems as Türkiye. But the most easily solvable one is the economic problem. With 50 -60 billion dollars, you can solve it to a great extent. Türkiye does not stay in any crisis it enters for more than 1 year. But the biggest difference between the economic crisis we used to experience and the economic problem we are experiencing today is the loss of trust. We have lost trust in each other, we have lost our democracy... We keep talking about structural reform, the biggest structural reform was already under Atatürk. There is success in all technical issues where politics does not interfere. It has ruined all technical issues where it has interfered. This is the most serious thing that Westerners have discovered. For example, look at football and volleyball, how successful we are in football because of politics, and how successful we are in volleyball because there is no politics. One of our most serious problems is that politics is involved in everything."