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The Intelligence from The Economist

Quit it cold, Turkey: policy tightens at last

The Intelligence from The Economist

The Economist

News, Global News, Daily News

4.53.7K Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2020

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Now that the economic reins have been taken back from the president’s son-in-law, the country is making the right policy noises—and just in time. China’s anti-poverty drive is not disinterested charity; it is about transforming citizens’ thoughts. And chronicling Pepe the Frog’s descent into alt-right memedom.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio.

0:07.0

I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

0:09.0

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

0:18.0

There's more than mere humanitarian values behind China's drive to end extreme poverty this year.

0:24.0

Our correspondent visits its beneficiaries, finding that it boasts urbanization,

0:29.0

builds the workforce and breeds a useful gratitude to the Communist Party.

0:34.0

And somehow, through the intricacies of internet culture,

0:38.0

a stoner frog called Pepe has become a symbol of white nationalism.

0:42.0

We examine a new film that documents how the cartoon spread

0:46.0

and how its creator has tried and failed to reclaim it.

0:50.0

But first,

0:57.0

today Turkey's central bank led by its new governor said it would raise the country's target interest rate by 4.75%.

1:09.0

The biggest rate rise in two years.

1:12.0

It's a welcome shift in policy.

1:15.0

That's because over those past two years, even as inflation soared and the Turkish lira's sank,

1:21.0

the central bank kept rates low.

1:23.0

That led foreigners to dump Turkish stocks, destroyed the savings of millions of Turks,

1:28.0

and put the lira on a perilous path to a currency crash.

1:32.0

Recently though, the lira is enjoying a big rebound.

1:35.0

The stock market is soaring, and officials have changed their tune about the need to keep inflation in check.

1:42.0

That shift in Turkey's economic fortunes happened before today's move,

1:46.0

and it started with a family argument.

...

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