Could Turkeys financial crisis and the

collapse of its currency have been prevented?

Turkeys Kriz (A)
I t was only when optimistic Turks started
snapping up imports that investors began to
doubt that foreign capital inflows would be
sufficient to fund both spendthrift consumers
and the perennially penurious government.
On the Brink Again, The Economist, February 24, 2001.
Turkeys Kriz (A)
In February 2001 Turkeys rapidly escalating economic kriz, or crisis, forced the
devaluation of the Turkish lira.
The Turkish government had successfully waged war on the inflationary forces embedded in the countrys
economy in 1999 and early 2000. But just as the economy began to boom in the second half of 2000,
pressures on the countrys balance of payments and currency rose.
The question asked by many analysts in the months following the crisis was whether the crisis had been
predictable, and what early signs of deterioration should have been noted by the outside world.
First, Turkey seemingly suffered significant volatility in the balances on key
international accounts.
The financial account swung between surplus (1993) to deficit (1994), and back to surplus again (1995-
1997). After plummeting in 1998, the financial surplus returned in 1999 and 2000.
Secondly, as is typically the case, the current account behaved in a relatively
inverse manner to the financial account, running deficits in most of the years
shown.
But the deficit on current account grew dramatically in 2000, to over $9.8 billion, from a
deficit in 1999 of only $1.4 billion.
Turkeys Kriz (A)
Exhibit 1 Turkeys Balance of
Payments, 19932000
Turkeys current account had been relatively volatile (generally in deficit), but had
taken a severe dive in 2000. The capital/financial account balance was in surplus
nearly throughout the period reflecting the massive international borrowing by Turkey.
1. Where in the current account would the imported telecommunications
equipment be listed? Would this correspond to the increase in
magnitude and timing of the financial account?
2. Why do you think that net direct investment declined from $571
million in 1998 to $112 million in 2000?
3. Why do you think that TelSim defaulted on its payments for
equipment imports from Nokia and Motorola?

Turkeys Kriz (A): Case Questions
Exhibit 4 Turkish Inflation Rate and Exchange Rate (quarterly)
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
16.0%
18.0%
20.0%
1998.1 1998.2 1998.3 1998.4 1999.1 1999.2 1999.3 1999.4 2000.1 2000.2 2000.3 2000.4 2001.1
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
Exchange Rate Inflation Rate