Perspectives on High Real Interest Rates in Turkey ISBN: 9781451915624 Platform/Publisher: Ebook Central / International Monetary Fund Digital rights:Users: Unlimited; Printing: Limited; Download: 7 Days at a Time Subjects: Economics; Business/ Management;
The Turkish economy is typically characterized as having particularly high real interest rates. Fundamental considerations, such as high growth rates or high returns to capital, do not provide a satisfactory resolution of this puzzle. Instead, we find that two other factors- doubts about the sustainability of disinflation and the existence of a risk premium-have a significant impact on the level of real interest rates in Turkey. Importantly, fiscal policy variables are shown to affect both these factors, suggesting that a more credible and prudent fiscal policy can help reduce real interest rates in Turkey.