Babacan's miracle

摘要

The turkish economy minister, Ali Babacan, was just 27 when he had his first brush with the World Bank, in 1994. As an adviser to Ankara's mayor, Mr Babacan persuaded the Bank to reopen a multi-million dollar project it was financing, saying the deal was overpriced. The Bank agreed, and the work was done for half the amount. Ten years on, such fiscal prudence has helped Mr Babacan to pull Turkey out of the hangover from the 2001 economic crisis, the worst in its recent history. Western bankers who were then in despair talk now of Turkey's miracle, gdp grew by a healthy 8% in 2004. Inflation was down to single digits (just over 9%) for the first time in 30 years. As if to cement the markets' confidence, European Union leaders agreed in December to start membership talks with Turkey next October.