Economy at crossroads, says UNDP chief
Posted by meb at June 20th, 2008
Turkey is at a crossroads in the economy and important problems need addressing, said the United Nations Development Fund, or UNDP, chief Kemal Derviş yesterday.
Speaking at the Turkish Industrialists’ And Businessmen’s Association, or TÜSİAD, executive board meeting yesterday, the architect of Turkey’s economic recovery after the devastating 2001 crisis, Derviş said he would focus on economic matters and it was impossible for him to address political matters.
The developments have allowed central banks to ignore certain inflationary tendencies, said Derviş, adding that Turkey would also suffer from the general economic slowdown around the world.
“When one considers the past financial crises, each time we faced a huge recession, market and currency depreciations with decreasing growth. Today is similar. However, I am an optimist. As we saw in the past, such crises were overcome in a comparably short time,” he said.
There will be a slowdown but it will be short and growth will return, he said.
He said central banks need to manage the current slowdown, warning against both a conservative and an expansionist monetary policy. “Central banks need to find a middle way,” he said.
He also warned that inflation redistributed wealth in favor of the rich, causing social problems. “The poor need to be protected. Social policies need to be strengthened.”
When asked about the absence of union leaders at the meeting, Derviş said, “It would have been nice to meet them but I don’t know why they failed to show up.”
source: Turkish Daily News
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