Turkish cities are not fond of persons with disabilities
Güven Sak, PhD
04 December 2012
Turkey’s urban governors are not aware that a person who rides a bike worth 100 liras has the same rights as a person who drives a car worth 100,000 liras. Ankara was not designed taking people with disabilities into account. Or, more correctly, the possibility that people with disabilities might participate in work life was not considered when the city was planned. Let me take that one more step: the urbanization tradition of Turkey does not involve any concern as such. This is bad. Today 650 million people with disabilities live throughout the world, about 10 percent of the world’s population. The share of disabled people among the poor population is even higher, about 20 percent, as experts state. Being disabled is an impediment to finding a job. Yesterday was the International Day of P
[More]
Why is Mohamed Morsi governing badly?
Güven Sak, PhD
01 December 2012
Egypt definitely needs a decentralization strategy. Municipalities are good areas for opposition groups to come of age. Egypt’s president is acting like a business executive who is overly anxious to close a deal. Little remains of the presidential post-revolutionary figure, elected with 50 percent of the vote. Morsi’s transformation is largely due to his decision to make himself, the Constituent Assembly and the Shura Council immune to the judiciary, and he has now decided to push ahead with the constitutional referendum in a haphazard way.
[More]
Turkey cannot even sweep CERN’s floors
Güven Sak, PhD
30 November 2012
Turkey has chosen to select between companies and persons. With this mentality, it cannot even sweep CERN’s floors. I used to think that it was important only to diplomats, but the discussions about CERN membership have expanded my horizon. I now think that Turkey’s public officials should learn more about Turkey, visit the Organized Industrial Zones in Manisa and Bursa, take a walk in the Gebze Technopark, and have a lunch in these places when they first assume office.
[More]
What does a physicist do in Turkey?
Güven Sak, PhD
27 November 2012
Unless Turkey advances from a medium-technology to a high-technology economy, achieving the 2023 targets will remain a sweet dream. According to the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority, for Turkey to become a member of the European Organization of Nuclear Research (CERN) would mean paying a full membership fee for nothing. A review appeared in Radikal the other day. My favorite part went, “It doesn’t seem possible for Turkish companies to succeed in CERN auctions. The only potential sectors Turkey can succeed in are services such as cleaning and catering." Why? The review explains: “Turkey’s human resources in the field of particle physics cannot compete with those of other CERN member countries.” Then, the review says Turkey should not take any step to become a full member of CERN until it b
[More]
A rising tide lifts all boats in Egypt
Güven Sak, PhD
24 November 2012
Egypt can be an important regional actor only if it has a stronger economy. Egypt has returned to regional leadership. The country played a vital role in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza, ending the week-long violence. It also recently reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for the eagerly awaited 4.8 billion dollar deal. On the domestic front, President Mohamed Morsi has further immunized himself and the Constituent Assembly, together with the Shura Council, against all court actions. All this happened in less than a week.
[More]
Switzerland is a shop on the main street
Güven Sak, PhD
23 November 2012
Switzerland gives and takes back the highest rate of brain drain in the world. There are two types of countries in the world: those on the main street and those on a blind alley. Switzerland is in the first group and Turkey is somewhere in between. If you own a shop on the main street, you enjoy street traffic and high business volume. If you design an eye-catching display you can attract many window shoppers, some of whom may go into the shop and possibly buy something. It is a good thing to have a shop on the main street. And just like a shop on the main street, Switzerland is very attractive to international scientists. According to a study in 2011, 57 percent of the researchers working in Switzerland in the field of chemistry, biology, and material science were not born in Switzerland.
[More]
Turkey cannot prosper by exporting rebar
Güven Sak, PhD
20 November 2012
The shares of high-technology exports in total exports are 20 percent in Korea and 3 percent in Turkey. Turkey has been a middle-income country ever since I am able to remember. South Korea used to be one, too, but it upgraded to the league of high-income countries by the end of the last century. We have maintained our position in the lower league. Why? If you ask me, the quality of the high-growth star sectors is critical here. The iron-steel sector seems to be the star of Turkey’s economy, with rapidly growing exports and a relative rise in its share in world trade. Yet, I believe that Turkey cannot prosper by selling rebar to the world.
[More]
The untold story of Turkey’s soft landing
Güven Sak, PhD
17 November 2012
The contribution of domestic demand to growth has declined to 10 percent, from above 50 percent. I was recently talking to business people interested in green field investments. Turkey is a land of opportunities for the foreign real estate sector. However, although the medium-term perspective is always bright here, the short term makes people think twice. Let me briefly go over Turkey’s growth experience of the last four years and its prospects for 2013.
[More]
Why was he not using the sidewalk, you say?
Güven Sak, PhD
16 November 2012
Ankara will not become a developed city just because the municipality hangs advertisements on billboards everywhere claiming that it is indeed a developed city.
[More]
The total value of bounced checks has doubled
Güven Sak, PhD
14 November 2012
Anatolian tradesmen and industrialists feel the economic slowdown the most. We are going through an interesting period. Turkey’s economy has been slowing down in a controlled fashion, and is praised for that. Why? Because as the economy slows down, accumulated risks come under better control. Is it a good thing? It depends on how you look at it. At the national level, the economy goes like clockwork. At the corporate level, however, the cost and the challenges of the slowdown become visible.
[More]
