Report predicts Turkey will be fastest-growing OECD country in 2011-2017

As the recovery in developed economies accelerates next year but is likely to remain fragile, growth in Turkey is likely to be the highest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in 2011-2017, the group said Thursday. The Paris-based watchdog's chief economist, Jorgen Elmeskov, told a news conference that the recovery has been mostly driven by government stimulus measures and interest rate cuts. Those benefited financial markets, whose recovery has been "considerably faster and stronger" than earlier anticipated, he said. The OECD more than doubled its estimate for 2010 growth in its 30 member countries – which include the US, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom – to 1.9 percent, compared to a 0.7 percent forecast in June. The projections are based on the assumption that by the middle of next year, financial conditions will have returned to normal. While banks have started to loosen lending conditions – a vital condition for the economy to grow again – there are still some concerns about the health of their balance sheets and their ability to provide credit to fund the economy, he said. Stating that the four-quarter contraction in the Turkish economy due to the impact of the global economic crisis reached its end in the second quarter of this year, the report predicted 3.7 percent growth for the economy next year, followed by a 4.6 percent in 2011. The report also predicted that Turkey will be the fastest-growing economy among OECD member countries in 2011-2017, with average annual growth of 6.7 percent. The OECD publishes its economic outlook twice a year, although it updated some 2009 forecasts in an interim assessment published in September.