Can Turkey Get Back on Track?

Turkey has long been a classic boom-bust economy. Indeed, the volatility of Turkish GDP growth is higher than most comparable Emerging market and advanced economies (next Chart). In addition, while the global economy has experienced two episodes of negative GDP growth since 1980, Turkey has endured five recessions. In my March 2021 blog "Turkey: Systemic [...]

Spain: Convergence — Finishing the Job!

30 June 2023 I love Spain: the food, wine, sun, landscape, art, architecture, and the unmistakable roar of happy people cascading into the streeets from busy bodegas! Indeed, I just returned from trendy Valencia where the post-Covid atmosphere is bouyant. The 1992 Maastricht treaty -- outlining a path towards the introduction of the Euro in [...]