What Should Turkish Economists Do and How Should They Do It?

This paper argues that the research Turkish economists do helps Turkey far less than it should, and too often it is done merely to get published and not to most effectively solve the problems that Turkey faces. It suggests two ways of dealing with such problems: one is for Turkish universities to develop a new journal-ranking method focusing on a particular research niche, and to use that ranking to evaluate research; the second is a voucher system that would give Turkish demanders of Turkish economic research more direct control over what research is done. Each proposal would change the incentive structure confronting Turkish economists, making what they want to do much more consistent with what Turkish society wants them to do.