Special issue: The political economy of economic and social policy in contemporary Turkey

Summary:

This special issue focuses on the political economy of economic and social policy in Turkey. Economic and social policies together shape the extent and the mechanisms of income and wealth distribution.

To make sense of the political economy of contemporary Turkey, and of the Justice and Development Party’s (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) durability in particular, one therefore needs to jointly consider economic development and welfare state development. Moreover, economic policy and social policy often overlap, meaning that policy areas such as agriculture, housing, or labour market policy serve both economic and social purposes.

Articles in this issue:

+ Introduction | Tim Dorlach & Osman Savaşkan
+ Social policy and different dimensions of inequality in Turkey: a historical overview | Ayşe Buğra
+ The incompatibility of the pension system and the labour market in Turkey | Asya Saydam
+ Building a competitive authoritarian regime: state–business relations in the AKP’s Turkey | Berk Esen & Sebnem Gumuscu
+ Reconfiguring state‒business relations in Turkey: housing and hydroelectric energy sectors in comparative perspective | Feryaz Ocaklı
+ The political dynamics of R&D policy in Turkey: party differences and executive interference during the AKP period | Hüseyin Emrah Karaoğuz