Industrial Pricing in Turkish Manufacturing During the Early 2000s: A Post-Keynesian Approach

Abstract

In this study, the pricing behavior of Turkish manufacturing is analyzed using panel data on 22 sub-sectors for the period from 2004 to 2015. The empirical findings of the study largely support the post-Keynesian hypothesis, in that the monopolistic power and non-wage costs of the sectors have a strong relationship with prices. However, one notable finding is that contrary to theoretical expectations, a statistically significant relationship between industrial prices and wage costs could not be determined. This finding implies that labor is not a serious cost element and can be interpreted as reflecting the pressure and flexibility policies established on labor when the neoliberal transformation is gaining momentum. Further, strong statistical evidence supports the validity of markup pricing in the oligopolistic sectors, which appears to have declined after the global financial crisis. Finally, the results indicate that increasing foreign trade openness in those industries with a production structure that is dependent on imported input factors does not appear to discipline markets by suppressing markup rates.