The NYT has an article about recent changes in Turkey's society and economy in which it asserts that "the economy has nearly doubled in the four years that the AK [the ruling Islamic party] has been in power, largely because it has stuck to an economic program prescribed by the International Monetary Fund." According to the OECD's data, in 2003, 2004, and 2005, Turkey's economy grew 5.8 percent, 8.9 percent, and 7.4 percent, respectively. Clicking over to the CIA Factbook, I find an estimate of 5.2 percent growth for 2006. That gives a cumulative total of 30.2 percent growth over the last four years. That's pretty good, but quite far from "nearly doubled" in normal usage. So, this raises the obvious question: does the IMF use a language in which "nearly doubled" is consistent with 30.2 percent growth? If so, that would explain why many of its critics have had complaints with the institution.
--Dean Baker