State economic enterprises and Turkish economy

Abstract

In Turkey, the state has a stake in economic affairs, either in terms of orientation of economic life or in terms of state managed enterprises, both before and after the Republic. In the early years of the Republic, the state, instead of developing the productive potential of the state-owned enterprises, and reorganizing them to increase their effectiveness, continued to operate them as they were. After the 1930's, a considerable number of State Economic Enterprises (SEEs) were established with different legal structures. The attempts at reforming and reorganizing the administration of these enterprises increased in frequency. Since 1960, the scope of SEEs' economic activities has been further extended, in spite of their continued operation at low levels of productivity under inefficient management. The need for the State Economic Enterprises to prove their efficiency so as to provide savings, their transformation is a vital aspects of Turkey's modernization.