Growth and Inequality Effects of Reforms from the Perspective of Defining and Measuring: A Model Essay on Turkey

Politická ekonomie, cilt.74, sa.1, ss.1-45, 2026 (Hakemli Dergi)

In this study, parallel with the developments in the global economy, the focus was on Turkey, where reform

programs have become widespread since the 1990s, and the possible effects of reforms on growth

and inequality were exam ined. For this purpose, in the study, financial, fiscal, real, and trade sector reforms

for Turkey were defined by IMF-MONA classifications, measured from the archive of the Official Gazette

of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey from 1990 to 2021, and their effects on growth and inequality

were examined by the Augmented ARDL method. The study’s innovative aspect focuses on the effects

of the reforms identified with a new approach to growth and inequality in a developing country like

Turkey concerning IMF-MONA classifications. As a result of the study, it was determined that 102 reform

proposals were carried out in Turkey about the IMF-MONA classifications during the review period, which

introduced important regulations for the functioning of the economic system in terms of scope and content

in the financial, fiscal, real, and trade sectors. In addition, it was concluded that reforms in Turkey have

varying effects on growth and inequality according to sectors and that fiscal sector reforms constitute

trade-offs against growth. These results show that reforms carried out in Turkey concerning IMF-MONA

classifications generally support growth without increasing inequalities and point out that they have significant

potential to strengthen the inclusiveness and sustainability of growth.