The effect of financial liberalization on the efficiency of Turkish commercial banks

Abstract

To investigate the effects of post-1980 financial liberalization policies on the economic efficiency of Turkish commercial banks at the micro level, a nonparametric frontier methodology is applied. The distinguishing feature of this model is its capability in addressing simultaneously the developments in economic efficiency and returns to scale in a consistent fashion. The results show that financial reform seems to have succeeded in stimulating the commercial banks not only to take measures that would enhance technical and allocative efficiency, but also to go through necessary scale adjustments in order to achieve optimal scale.