May 2-3, 2024
Dear Researchers,
The global economy is undergoing significant transformation in the 21st century. Technological advancements are integrating into production processes and daily life, creating new opportunities across various sectors. Simultaneously, increasing regional conflicts, the visible impacts of the climate crisis, deepening inequalities, and health crises are compelling countries to reconsider their economic policy designs. As these opportunities and challenges emerge, they take on unique forms within regional contexts, prompting discussions on how countries will adapt to these transformative dynamics. Therefore, while the questions posed may seem familiar, the answers evolve with each context.
Since its integration into the world economy in the 16th century, the Turkish economy has been in a constant quest for “structural transformation.” Beginning with the search for a national bourgeoisie class, which was absent during the Ottoman era, Turkey embarked on a state-organized process of industrialization and development in the early years of the Republic. Transitioning to a multi-party system in the 1950s and achieving import substitution through planned development in the 1960s, Turkey, one of the proponents of neoliberal prescriptions that emerged in the late 1970s, entered into a growth-crisis spiral under the guidance of international financial capital without establishing institutional infrastructure. In recent years, Turkey has appeared as an economically unstable country, grappling with issues such as rapid depreciation of the Turkish lira, high inflation and unemployment, and a current account deficit. Moreover, the rising costs of housing and food, which constitute 65% of expenditures for the poorest segment, make it challenging for millions to meet their basic needs. Furthermore, lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating earthquake in February 2023 have brought institutional problems to the forefront in Turkey and compounded existing economic challenges.
In this century, marked by the need for a new social contract amidst current economic and social developments, it is imperative to discuss how the Turkish economy will adapt to this new social contract amid its current structural issues and deepening inequalities. In this context, we are organizing a workshop on the theme of “Turkish Economy,” where we will address significant questions such as “What are the continuities and transformations in the Turkish economy from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic? Why has the Turkish economy not undergone sufficient structural transformation? What mechanisms perpetuate income inequality and poverty in Turkey? How can the limits of accumulation based on finance capital be delineated in Turkey? What new initiatives can be undertaken in agriculture? Where does Turkey stand in environmental and ecological debates? How should the new economic model of the 21st century be designed? What are the risks and opportunities regarding the future of class struggle and social movements?”
This workshop, dedicated to the esteemed retired faculty member of the Department of Economics at Ege University, Prof. Dr. Osman Aydoğuş, who passed away in 2023, will be held at our faculty with the aim of revisiting the questions posed to the Turkish economy in the second century of the Republic, finding new answers to these questions, and, of course, posing new questions. In this regard, it aims to create a venue where all researchers interested in contributing to economic thought can come together and share current research on the Turkish economy.
We kindly request abstracts of the papers you would like to present at the workshop to be sent to egeiktisatorg@gmail.com by March 24, 2024. Following the review of the abstracts submitted on relevant topics, the workshop program will be announced on April 15, 2024.
