Economic development and environmental policy in Turkey: an institutionalist critique

Turkey has had a prolonged exemplary experience with economic development. In this paper we will trace the emergence of an environmental concern within development planning in Turkey, after a brief theoretical discussion on rival frameworks. It is our contention that, whereas economic policies are planned to meet certain goals, environmental policies are formulated after observing the results of these economic policies and only in a fragmented manner. What is needed is an alternative comprehensive policy based on a theoretical framework in tune with Karl Polanyi, Gunnar Myrdal, William Kapp and Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, in order to uplift the analysis and policy design to a comprehensive level.