Social Security Reform in Turkey: A Critical Perspective

Abstract

This article discusses social security reforms in Turkey in the framework of the welfare state, which started to fall in the 1970s as a result of the neoliberal paradigm promoting the interest of the capital class over the interest of the public as a whole. The article analyzes some handicaps of privatization attempts all over the world. The author argues that social security reforms in Turkey toward privatization will result in decreasing the welfare of the poorer strata of society. The author discusses the welfare losses incurred by the increasing nonparticipation of the government, which decreases income certainty for the beneficiary and exposes individuals to the risk of fluctuations in the economy in general and of the stock market in particular. JEL classification: G23, H53, H55