Economic policies in Turkey following 1930 great depression

While the Ottoman Empire was collapsed following the First World War, a new war began and the Republic of Turkey was established at the end of this war. In this direction, the new state determined its economic policy in Izmir Economic Congress which assembled on February 1923 when the Republic had not been declared yet. Between the date that the Congress assembled and the elapsed time until the date 1929 was the period that on the one hand Turkey was institutionalized and on the other hand economic policies were implemented. However, the liberal process did not last long and effects of huge economic crisis which began in America in 1929 and gradually affected the whole world reflected to Turkey too. The depression caused the emergence of social problems such as unemployment, bankruptcy, hunger and suicide. With regard to this economic crisis is the most important crisis that capitalism has ever lived. However, the planned economy which was being implemented in Russia in the same period and the economic policy of Soviets which took at least wound from this global crisis, thus started to receive demand in the world. Even the economy model which was implemented in Russia was followed by Turkey in patches against the depression. Thus, new tendencies in the economy in Turkey had shown itself in the depression environment. Some suggestions about the way that should be followed in the economic policies were appeared in the public opinion. In the depression environment, important debated about what kind of economic model that Turkey would follow were taken place and the economic efficiency of the state was increasing as well as increased in the whole world, the protectionist economic policies began to be seen. This study emphasizes that problems which 1929 Great Depression brought about in the world and Turkey, effects od depression, and how Turkey tried to compose economic policy in the depression environment via focusing on social issues of the period.