Turkish Central Bank head calls for 'right policy mix'

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA

The right policy mix is essential for countries to cope with -- or avoid -- economic shocks, the governor of Turkey’s Central Bank said on Monday.

Speaking at a meeting of the Central Bank Governors' Club of Central Asia, the Black Sea Region and the Balkan Countries, Murat Cetinkaya said:

“The time is right for us to press on with our efforts to enhance economic resilience and focus on structural reforms.

“Such attention would allow us to minimize the impact of potential shocks, to recover from them more quickly, and even to avoid them as much as possible.”

Neither monetary policy nor fiscal and macro prudential measures alone could be a substitute for structural adjustments, Cetinkaya added.

The right policy would involve country-specific structural reforms, he said.

Cetinkaya said structural reforms were vital to boosting productivity, competitiveness and growth in the medium and long term.

A favorable business environment, flexible labor and product markets plus efficient social security systems were required to establish economic resilience, Cetinkaya told the meeting.

Saying the global economy was gaining some momentum, Cetinkaya said:

“There is strengthening in advanced economies and emerging economies seem to have bottomed out, although the pace of recovery varies. But we are Central Bankers and our watchword is prudence,” he added.

The meeting in Antalya, southern Turkey, will finish Tuesday.