Talk:
“Diffuse Interest Groups and Regulatory Policy Change: Financial Consumer Protection in Turkey”
by
M. Kerem Coban,
Research Associate
Koc University
Friday, April 12, 2019, 11:40 a.m. – 13:10 p.m.
FEASS Building, T-271
Abstract:
Diffuse interest groups are considered uninfluential in the policy process compared to resourceful, well organized private sector. Yet they can have a remarkable footprint in the policy process. This article examines why and how a regulation on retail banking fees, commissions, and charges emerged in Turkey after a long period of regulatory stasis. The article sheds light on the conditions of how diffuse interest groups could trigger regulatory policy change which reflects a change in the policy regime. The article shows that when regulatory forbearance causes stasis and the exclusionary policy making context overlap, consumer groups contested the policy regime of the banking sector and the regulator by attracting politically resourced and well-positioned allies’ attention, who empowered consumer groups against the policy regime while taking advantage of a ‘policy window’. The findings contribute to our understanding of the conditions of how diffuse interests can trigger policy change and most importantly a change in the policy regime.
Short Bio:
Dr. Mehmet Kerem Coban is a Research Associate at GLODEM, Koc University. He completed a PhD in Public Policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore in 2017. His research is positioned at the intersection of comparative public policy, regulatory governance, and international political economy. His work has appeared in Policy and Society, Journal of Financial Regulation, and Business and Politics. He has also published single- and co-authored book chapters and book reviews. Prior to his doctoral studies, he completed MA in Development Studies at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), Geneva in 2013, and BA in International Relations at Kadir Has University, Istanbul in 2011. He interned at the Global Risk Identification Program (GRIP), the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery at UNDP’s Geneva Office, and the General Consulate of the Republic of Turkey in Geneva. He consulted the Global Challenges Foundation.