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AbstractIn the last three decades, the Turkish economy has become much more open and market-oriented. This paper provides an account of the changes in the underlying economic institutions that have accompanied this transformation. In particular, it assesses whether or not new economic institutions have emerged that constrain the discretionary powers of the executive in the area of economic policy and whether institutional change has resulted in a more rule-based and transparent policy framework. The story that broadly emerges is that the first two decades of the neoliberal era were predominantly a period of increased discretion at the expense of rules. By contrast, after the crisis of 2000-2001 one witnesses a substantial delegation of decision-making power to relatively independent agencies, and the establishment of rules that constrain the discretion of the executive. But this transformation is not uniform across sectors, and there are divergences between the de jure rules and their de facto implementation. Moreover, there are also examples that do not fit the general trend, especially in the case of the construction industry. Finally, recent signs suggest that the government may be having second thoughts about the "excessive" independence of regulatory and policy making bodies.

Turkey has been reforming its energy markets since the 1980s, culminating in two major bills in the early 2000s. The country has restructured electricity and natural gas markets, establishing an independent regulatory agency (EMRA) and passed legislation on renewable and nuclear energy. With these regulatory reforms, Turkey, as a candidate country for accession to the European Union (EU), has aimed to direct the energy markets to a more competitive environment in parallel with EU energy directives. This book contains an analysis of regulatory reforms in Turkish energy markets (electricity, natural gas, renewable and nuclear energy), the impact of these reforms on country's energy portfolio and role in global energy trade, especially between the EU, the Caspian, Caucasus, and Central Asia. Finally, the book concludes with recommendations for Turkish energy policy. The authors are expert scholars who have written extensively on Turkish regulatory reform and energy economics and who have broad knowledge of global energy market dynamics. The book will be a unique guide for those concerned with the different areas of the Turkish economy and international audiences interested in energy markets of Turkey and surrounding regions, making the book of interest to not only researchers in academia but also industry practitioners, regulators and policy makers as well

The evolution of the telecommunications sector is of keen interest from both a development and a political economy perspective. Telecommunications is critical to economic dynamics, to the quality of life, to social service provision, and to citizen engagement. This paper explores the political economy of telecommunications in three middle income countries - Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey. It undertakes an interpretation of the processes at work through the lens of these comparative cases. It is also intended as a case study of a set of broader questions over the development process, as this is shaped by the central nexus of relations between business and state actors. The paper is specifically concerned with the following questions: how does policy change in real polities, in terms of both policy design and implementation?; how is this shaped by the underlying nature of business-state relations, and to the overall political settlement in a country?; is there a tendency for economic entrenchment in typical middle income countries?; by this the authors mean consolidation of economic activities in ways that support sustained economic rents, underpinned by various mixes of regulatory capture and market power. And what countervailing forces are there to support a more dynamic and competitive equilibrium?; how is the state understood in the context of these business-state relations?; how is it useful to deconstruct the state, and in particular, do checks and balances institutions have the autonomy to provide a check on entrenchment?; and how do these processes interact with technological change? These questions relate to the broader issue of whether governance arrangements can countervail unequal political and economic power in ways that foster inclusive development.