Political Connections and Public Procurement in Turkey: Evidence from Construction Work Contracts

This research project studies how politicized and corrupt practices have differed in serving as major tools for rapid capital accumulation for particular business groups and providing leverage for the government between the 1980s and 1990s; where a major shift in political power holding has coincided with the start of Turkey’s negotiations with the EU as an “official candidate.” The study develops a set of hypothesis to investigate the effects of political connections on the dynamics of public procurements. The public procurement data set allow for investigating the legal changes that have been used to provide privileges and restrictions.