Economist: "Turkey's GDP growth is impressive, but it can do more to promote public welfare"

Turkey's gross domestic product has grown 48-fold since the founding of the Republic in 1923, according to new State Planning Organization (DPT) data, but some economists say that rise did not result in a similar improvement in the nation's welfare. "Such an increase does not necessarily imply that the welfare of the population increased by the same rates," Osman Zaim, dean of the Economic and Administrative Sciences Faculty at Kadir Has University, said on Monday. Zaim's comments came after the DPT published extensive data for the 1923-2010 period on its website last week, including national income, balance of payments, financial markets, public financing, prices and other socioeconomic indicators. "Not everyone's income increased. Income distribution worsened" respective to growth, Zaim said, adding that the quality of health and education services didn't shown similar performances during the same period. "The figure indicates a vast growth performance," said Seyfettin Gursel, the head of Bahcesehir University's Economic and Social Research Center, but added that per capita GDP of developed countries also increased and that the income gap between Turkey and developed countries didn't close.