THE FAILURE STORY OF LIBERAL ECONOMIC POLICIES IN TURKEY: TURKEY-IMF RELATIONS 1954-1960

Authors : Ceyhun Öğreten
Pages : 217-231
Doi:10.33431/belgi.1520955
View : 49 | Download : 141
Publication Date : 2025-07-01
Article Type : Research Paper
Abstract :After the Second World War, Turkey, under the influence of international developments, moved closer politically, militarily and economically to the Western bloc led by the United States of America. Turkey joined the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which were established under the guidance and encouragement of the United States with the idea of reviving the European economies that had collapsed at the end of the war, and regulated its entire economy according to the legislation of these organisations. The liberal policies that began with the Republican People’s Party (CHP) governments came to the fore especially with the Democratic Party (DP), which came to power in 1950, and the success of the agricultural-based economic policies adopted by the DP government between 1950 and 1953 began to decline in 1954. The loans granted to Turkey by the World Bank for reconstruction and development purposes and the difficulties in financing the debts contracted from international organisations and countries led to the intervention of the IMF in the Turkish economy and the devaluation proposal, which was perceived as an insult to Turkey during the DP government, but did not find a response from the Menderes governments. The deepening economic crisis after 1958 led, despite the government\\\'s resistance, to the signing of a stabilisation programme between the IMF and Turkey, the devaluation of the Turkish lira to the highest level in its history and the deferral of debts. These decisions, which have left deep traces in the history of the Turkish economy, show first the bankruptcy of liberal and unplanned economic policies and then the reconstruction efforts with the IMF stabilisation programme. This study evaluates the process leading to the stabilisation programme signed between Turkey and the IMF on 4 August 1958 and its results within the axis of Turkey-IMF relations.
Keywords : IMF, Dünya Bankası, Demokrat Parti, devalüasyon, istikrar programı.

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