Inflation and Unemployment: Turkey's Twin Challenges

Many countries have faced the problems of high inflation and high unemployment at some point in their history. High rates of inflation and unemployment have disrupted macroeconomic balances and dragged countries into economic crises. In order to build a strong and sustainable economic structure, these two problems must be solved. The fight against high inflation and unemployment depends both on the determination of fiscal and monetary policymakers and the conviction of the people of the country that inflation and unemployment can be reduced. The Turkish economy faced high inflation and high unemployment until the 2000s. Turkey experienced two major economic crises in November 2000 and February 2001. Although the measures taken as a result of these crises led to significant improvements in inflation, the same cannot be said for unemployment. In 2018, the fact that both inflation and unemployment have reached double digit figures, which can be considered quite high, shows that these two problems are still among Turkey’s most important macroeconomic problems.