Abstract
Saving Gap Problem: Comparison of Turkey and China
This study aims to provide solutions to the chronic savings deficit of Turkey's economy by reference to policies implemented in China, which is a thriving country in terms of increased savings. The study analyzes the economic structure between 1980 and 2015, when they were similar. The results achieved in this study offer structural terms for the process of financial liberalization of Turkey's economy, which exhibited a fragile structure until the 2000s and was exposed to crisis. Since the increase in income after the 2000s shifted to luxury consumption, the problem of saving deficit has not been solved yet. With the adoption of market socialism as an economic structure in China, there have been interventions in economic and demographic life such as wage and price controls and the implementation of a single child in terms of family planning. From this point of view, voluntary savings are a common practice in the Chinese economy. However, contrary to what is known, although the consciousness of saving is an effect of Confucian culture, savings are made compulsory by the state. In other words, autonomous consumptions are suppressed by the state. This poses a problem for the distribution of prosperity in democratic countries. Therefore, Turkey’s macroeconomic variables are required to increase the awareness of savings as well as improving the economy. In this study, it is concluded that interventionist practices increase policy effectiveness, although economic policies cause a loss of welfare in terms of savings.
Keywords
Savings Gap, Liberalization, Saving Motive, Turkish Economy, Chinese Economy
