The ones missing the essence of the matter will just be laughed at
Güven Sak, PhD
17 February 2009
Life is becoming harder and harder for the ones missing the dynamics of the global economic crisis. Are you aware of the local example that is apparent with all aspects? Lately, the countries all round the world are shaken as the impacts of the global crisis are becoming apparent in full flood. However, in case of Turkey, our rulers are of the opinion that there is no anomaly. Honorable Prime Minister of Turkey recently said that "The economy will begin recovering as of June". Minister of Treasury had expressed "interest rate and exchange rate are on track thanks to the measures we have taken". There is the dead of winter outside, but the rulers are talking about sunny summer. In such a period, the ones failing to keep in mind or even recognize the essence of the matter will just be laughe
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Fewer sins, more punishment
Fatih Özatay, PhD
16 February 2009
Yesterday, I started to give some indicators proving that the ones that committed fewer sins are more severely punished. There were two apparent examples for the punishment: First, countries like Turkey faced higher economic contraction as compared to the countries where the crisis was originated or spread from. Second, gradually tightening global capital was escaping from countries like Turkey towards the latter (flight towards quality).
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Weird situations
Fatih Özatay, PhD
15 February 2009
The headline of the economy page in yesterday's Radikal daily was: "Contraction in Europe was far more than in the US that is responsible for the crisis". Under the headline, it was said that the economies of 15 EU countries using Euro contracted by 1.5 percent in average in the last quarter of 2008. On the other hand, the US economy contracted by 1.3 percent in the same period.
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Is February 3rd good or bad?
Güven Sak, PhD
14 February 2009
I wonder whether anyone told President Obama to "Beware of the February 3rd". We cannot know the answer. If the two developments that happened on the third day of February 2009 are addressed in conjunction, the impacts reach even here in Turkey. The first development is that a bridge in Pakistan, Peshawar was blown up. All the traffic on the Khyber Pass was suspended for the third time in the last six months. Second development of the day was in Kirghizstan. President of Kirghizstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced that the Manas Air Base next to the Bishkek Airport, granted to the US was to be closed. There were problems between two countries arising from the lease contract. Thus, the issue of establishing an alternative supply chain for the NATO forces in Afghanistan became the core of the ag
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Latest developments (without comments)
Fatih Özatay, PhD
12 February 2009
Lately, we observe an intense data flow. Today, I would like to assess this briefly. Not all of them, the ones pertaining to the channels transmitting the effects of the global crisis into Turkey as well as their results.
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When does protectionism become a legitimate argument?
Güven Sak, PhD
10 February 2009
Two days ago British people were making a protest with the slogan "British jobs for British workers". The world is going through a process not we are unfamiliar with but we have forgotten for a period of time. This transition period will eventually end. The unknown element is what is going to happen at the end of the transition period. What is going to happen next is closely related with what we are going to do nowadays. What is going on? This is: The mechanism ensuring the functioning of the global economy with liberty is not working anymore. In such a period, there are two options ahead: We will either acknowledge that global crises require global solutions and introduce global measures along with the rest of the world or say "everyman will shape his own future". The fatalism in the latt
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Garbage issue
Fatih Özatay, PhD
09 February 2009
I guess it was the first years of elementary school. Our teacher used to say: "If everyone wipes her garden, the streets will be as clean as a whistle." I do not know whether it was because I was 'over-comprehensive', but I could not get it: "If my mother wipes our garden, will not the garbage dirty the garden of our neighbor? So, what will our neighbor do? If he also wipes his garden, what will happen to the garden of the other neighbor?"
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Degree of naivety...
Fatih Özatay, PhD
08 February 2009
I really cannot believe some certain things. I have worked as a bureaucrat for many years. And I have been living in Ankara and smelling the bureaucracy for many more. On my last article in this column, I referred to technical reasons while I was speaking about what cannot be the subject of dispute between Turkey and the IMF. However, I see I missed the probability that in Ankara, 'technical' reasons might not be valid every time due to obvious 'technical reasons'.
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Okay, but what do the people living in Gaza thinks?
Güven Sak, PhD
07 February 2009
Have you ever seen Gaza? The first time I saw Gaza was in 2005. Israel had just retreated from Gaza. It was the times of the disengagement policy of Ariel Sharon. Gaza was under Palestinian rule. The initial impressions one could catch at a glance were: First, there was hung a flag with different color on top of each house. However, none of those flags was national flag of Palestine. Colors of flags varied from one neighborhood to another. Orange ones were al-Fatih flags, green ones were Hamas flags, black ones Islamic Jihad flags and red ones were Palestinian Liberation Front flags. One would easily understand that he/she is walking around a more political part of Palestine as compared to West Bank. Gaze was divided from one neighborhood to another. Second, the areas named Organized Indu
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What cannot be the subject of the dispute?
Fatih Özatay, PhD
05 February 2009
I do not know the subjects of the disputes with the IMF. I would like to select and comment on two subjects addressed by the media. I remember reading some texts that there exists a dispute on the issue of 'fiscal rule'. However, I do not think that introducing fiscal rules can be a subject of dispute; even it is so, it does not make sense.
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