Turkey’s Accession to the European Union and the Macroeconomic Dynamics of the Turkish Economy

This study focuses on the economic relations between Turkey and the European Union from 1996 to 2006. The analysis includes the major macroeconomic performance in the Turkish economy prior to and after the implementation of the Customs Union Agreement. It also focuses on the external and internal macroeconomic dynamics of the Turkish economy. The results of an empirical investigation indicate that Turkey will tend to encounter large declines in GDP growth rates during 2009-2017. The forecast estimations show that Turkey is expected to grow by an annual average of 3.27 percent or 3.41 percent depending on internal and external factors, respectively.