Consumer Confidence for Turkey

Consumer behavior plays an important role in providing economic decision-makers and economic forecasters with necessary information about future expectations. Consumer surveys provide regular assessments of consumer attitudes and expectations. They are used to evaluate economic trends and prospects. The surveys are designed to explore why changes in consumer expectations occur and how these changes influence consumer spending and saving decisions. They also provide the necessary data for the measurement of the consumer confidence. Optimistic consumer confidence may cause desire for making large expenses and increase the tendency for borrowing, while pessimism may cause consumers to reduce their expenditures, to review their financial situations.
The aim of this study is to give brief knowledge about the Consumer Tendency Survey (CTS) carried out with cooperation of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) and the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). The second aim is to construct a consumer confidence index by using the questions of the CTS. The purpose of constructing the consumer confidence index is to find out consumer tendencies and expectations for general economic course. The most appropriate index is formed and its performance is tested in this study.