Neo-liberalism and labour within the context of an ‘emerging market’ economy— Turkey

Abstract

It has been long argued by marketeers that neo-liberal reforms benefit the working class. This study suggests, however, that since the outset of the neo-liberal era in Turkey, temporary employment has risen, unionisation has declined, employment prospects have deteriorated and employees' earnings have diminished in real terms. Such developments made Turkey a ‘better’ place for capital. Yet they also caused a growing inequality in overall income distribution, and political unrest across the country.

The crisis in the Turkish pension system: a post Keynesian perspective

“…reforms led to measures such as the elimination of excess employment by encouraging early retirement, the expansion of contractual status and subcontracting, and a performance-based payment system within the public system (Arén, 2004;Boratav and Özug¬ urlu, 2006;Boratav et al, 2000;Cam, 2002).…”

“…In addition to Turkey's European union accession, the rigidities in the labor market and the associated legislation were identified as the major obstacles to neoliberal globalization as well as Turkey's European union accession, especially after the 1994 financial crisis (Özdemir and Yüesan-Özdemir, 2006;Cam, 2002). As a result, the new labor law (no.…”

“…Another reason was unemployment due particularly to rural-urban migration (Bug¬ ra and Keyder, 2006;Cam, 2002;Lordog¬ lu, 1998) and the jobless-growth pattern in the Turkish economy (Yeldan, 2009). ruralurban migration put more pressure on formal sectors in urban settings and increased the unemployment rate (Lordog¬ lu, 1998).…”

Personal and global economies: Male carpet manufacturers as entrepreneurs in the weaving neighborhoods of Konya, Turkey

“…Leaving behind the etatism of earlier years, the Turgut Özal government, formed after the military coup of 1980, embraced export‐oriented growth and boosted exports through generous tax rebates and cheap credit at preferential rates to small businesses. The desire was to attract foreign capital by drastically reducing wages, reducing public employment, and curbing unionization (Cam 2002; Müftüler 1995; Togan and Balasubramanyam 1996). Esra Özyürek (2006:12–18) comments that, through neoliberalization policies, former bureaucrats lost their monopoly over public space and found their upper‐middle‐class wages reduced compared with the earnings of rising entrepreneurs.…”

A cosmopolitan Europe?

“…Second, neoliberal policies in Turkey-such as privatizations and ARIP-have been critiqued for increasing social inequalities and fostering authoritarian politics (Aybar 2001;Balkan and Ş avran 2002;Cam 2002). However, the issue of social inequality receives much less attention from the EU than human rights violations in the field of "freedoms."…”