I read with great interest your article “Lira collapse bodes ill for Turkish economy” (Report, November 25).
The decision of Turkey to freeze interest rates is akin to the policy of freezing bread prices described in the novel The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni.
The novel is set in Lombardy in 1628, during the years of Spanish rule. In an attempt to control prices, the government decided to freeze the sales price of bread. However, the same government could not assume control over the price of flour and other ingredients, so the policy drove bakers out of business and the citizens of Lombardy into starvation.
The policy of Turkey will not just drive bakers out of business but will affect the Turkish economy at large. Maybe the Turkish government can be convinced of this fate if its members were to read Manzoni’s novel. One cannot escape the forces of supply and demand.
Jan Bouwens
Professor of Accounting, Amsterdam Business School, The Netherlands
Letter: Manzoni’s novel throws light on the lira collapse
Pinoy Variant