Middle income trap : a comparison between BRICS countries and Turkey

The concept of the middle income trap takes place among the frequently discussed issues in the growth literature in the last periods. There are a number of countries in the world, which cannot move to the high income economic level and which squeeze to the middle income trap. These countries overcome the low income category with a rapid growth, however, when they reached the middle income level, they began to get slower and came to a deadlock depending on inadequate productivity. The aim of this study is to examine the concept of the middle income trap and make a comparison in terms of Turkey and BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). In the comparison, few factors were taken into consideration, such as human capital, education and innovation. Although Turkey has significantly proceeded in the growth recently, it is not able to reach the high income level, because its existing human capital and innovation level do not seem to be enough. In conclusion, based on results of the comparison with BRICS countries, some necessary suggestions for Turkish policies are presented, in order to rid of the risk of middle income trap.