Shift in growth model needed, says Turkish

ISTANBUL

Turkey needs a shift in the current growth model, taking into account the external factors in the global financial system, a board member of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) said yesterday, in Istanbul for a conference organized by TÜSİAD, Koç University and the World Bank.

Turkey’s post-crisis economic growth performances in the last quarter of 2010 and first quarter of 2011, when the country became the growth champion in Europe and the world, did not necessarily imply a successful growth model was being employed, said Tayfun Bayazıt, adding that comparisons on quarterly figures could be misleading.

Annual economic growth rates revealed in the IMF world Economic Outlook 2011 report showed that Turkey’s performance was very volatile, with many other developing countries on a more stable track, he added.

In terms of annual growth rates, Turkey was in the top 25 countries in 2004 in the world. It dropped to 55th in 2006, 117th in 2007 and 162th in 2008; but climbed to the 11th place in 2010. The instability of this growth rate is the weakest point of Turkey’s success story, according to Bayazıt.