Acemoğlu stresses transparency is key

WASHINGTON - Anatolia News Agency

Turkey’s economy over the past 20 years is more open says economist. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

World-renowned economist Daron Acemoğlu has said that Turkey’s continued economic development will require stronger political institutionalization, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Acemoğlu, in a book written jointly with economist James Robinson, titled “The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty: Why Nations Fail,” claims that Turkey is currently moving from “exclusionary”

institutionalization to the preferred model of “encompassing” institutionalization. According to the book’s main premise, Turkey’s economy has come a long way in 30 years.

“Today the Turkish economy is not just comprised of a few holdings found only in the Istanbul region. This shows that economic institutions are more transparent and encompassing,” Acemoğlu told the Anatolia news agency. He added that Turkey’s economy is now much more open and liberal than it has ever been in the past.

 Acemoğlu said the Turkish economy is very successful in terms of innovation, investment and fueling different sectors, but in order for these to be sustainable, there needs to be political development, and therefore political institutions need to be strengthened. “Turkey needs to open itself up. If it makes the wrong choices when faced with opportunities, this could take Turkey backwards and be detrimental to its economy,” Acemoğlu said.

Acemoğlu is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and is considered a front runner for future Nobel prizes in economics.