How Does Turkey's GNP Measure Up?
A country's economy is vastly important. It is the beating heart that keeps nations alive. There are many ways to measure and observe economic growth and development. One of the most popular ways to do so is by utilizing the Gross National Product. A country's Gross National Product, or GNP, is defined as "...the value of all final goods and services produced within its boarders...combined with net income from outside its borders through trade and other incomes." [1]. Sometimes called Gross Domestic Product, GNP is widely used to determine a county's economic well being. It does have some issues; it does not include non-market income (like work-away programs) nor does it consider depletion of natural resources. It also fails to take productivity into account. For example, if the price of wine increases, France's GNP will go up even though the same amount of wine may be produced.
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| Figure 1: Turkish lira coins. |
But what does this mean for Turkey? Well, it certainly helps to put Turkey's economy into more comprehensible terms. The country's current GNP stands at 1.406 trillion PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) dollars, just under Saudi Arabia's 1.55 trillion PPP dollars. Turkey's GNP per capita is at about 18,760 PPP dollars. Compare that to the Unites State's 52,610 PPP dollars per capita. That is nearly triple the GNP of Turkey. Does that mean the US is three times as well off as Turkey? Not necessarily. While GNP is very useful information, as stated before it has its flaws. Bartering is considered a type of non-market income. This is a major issue as bartering and haggling are used widely across Turkey and is a tradition in the open air markets.
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| Figure 2: The Grand Bazaar is a hub of bartering. |
"Turkey." www.worldbankgroup.org. 8 October 2014. Web.
<http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2014/08/27/engine-of-growth-for-turkey>
Figure 1: Turkish lira coins. Illustration. http://1001thingstodoinistanbul.wordpress.com/, April 4, 2012
Figure 2: The Grand Bazaar is a hub of bartering. Photograph. http://www.travelandescape.ca/, 2014.
[1] Rowntree, Lester. Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.
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