page_title: Ahmet Davutoğlu
section_title: Economic policy
hierarchical_section_title: Ahmet Davutoğlu / Premiership (2014–16) / Economic policy
caption_attribution_description: English: Growth rate of Turkey (%), created using Microsoft Excel
context_page_description: Ahmet Davutoğlu is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2014 and chief advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from 2003 to 2009. He was elected as an AKP Member of Parliament for Konya in the 2011 general election and was reelected as an MP in both the June and November 2015 general elections. He resigned as Prime Minister on 22 May 2016.
  Following the election of serving Prime Minister and AKP Leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the 12th President of Turkey, Davutoğlu was announced by the AKP Central Executive Committee as a candidate for the party leadership. He was unanimously elected as leader during the first AKP extraordinary congress and consequently succeeded Erdoğan as prime minister, forming the 62nd Government of the Turkish Republic. His cabinet was dominated by Erdoğan's close allies such as Yalçın Akdoğan; this led to speculation that he would take a docile approach as prime minister while Erdoğan continued to pursue his own political agenda as president.
context_section_description: Despite controversy over alleged links with Fethullah Gülen, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan retained his position in Davutoğlu's new cabinet with responsibility over the economy. Babacan, who has been an advocate of neoliberal economic policies and independence for the Turkish Central Bank, has been at odds with Erdoğan and other AKP politicians who advocate a more Islamist-orientated economic agenda such as Numan Kurtulmuş and Yiğit Bulut. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, a supporter of Babacan, also kept his post in the new cabinet. Although the retainment of the two pro-liberal economy ministers pleased investors, the appointment of Kurtulmuş as another deputy prime minister has also created speculation over a potential economic divide within the new government.
  Davutoğlu became prime minister at a time of economic slowdown and uncertainty, which he blames on the weak global economy, particularly the Eurozone. The government slashed economic growth forecasts from 4% to 3.3% in 2014, and from 5% to 4% in 2015. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also lowered its forecasts from 4% to 3.2% in 2015 and estimated 4% growth in 2016. On 6 November 2014, Davutoğlu announced plans to boost the economy through greater global integration. Reform packages included a 9-point plan to boost the technology, energy, health and tourism sectors. With a GDP of $820 billion, a budget deficit of 7%, a current account deficit of 7.9% and an unemployment rate of nearly 10% in 2013, Davutoğlu's government will target a GDP of $1.3 trillion, a budget deficit of 5.2%, a current account deficit of 5.2% and an unemployment rate of 7% by 2018. Davutoğlu has also aimed to reduce the country's dependency of foreign energy imports, and pledged to not pursue a populist economic agenda in the run-up to the June 2015 general election.
  Economic confidence declined following what was perceived to be an attempt by the government to shut down Bank Asya, which it claims is linked to the Gülen Movement. The government revoked the Bank's ability to collect taxes on behalf of the state, and the bank subsequently lost 25% of its cash deposits after several firms withdrew more than ₺4 billion after a smear campaign. The bank was banned for five weeks from trading on the stock exchange, with the decision raising questions over the government's influence over the legally independent stock exchange authority (BİST). The government was criticised globally for causing economic concern amongst the international financial community, potentially resulting in a reduction of investment into Turkey due to financial insecurity and political uncertainty.
  On 2 September 2014, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan announced a new policy to collect income data from citizens in order to apply different debt repayment opportunities in proportion to wages. The new database will aim to stop citizens from becoming indebted with large interest payments.
caption: Economic growth rate in Turkey between 2011 and 2014
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