The pertinent and unanswerable question about Turkey is whether the country's present economic turmoil is an isolated event, mostly confined to Turkey itself, or whether it portends a larger economic convulsion that shakes markets around the world. Among economists and other experts, there's no consensus. Some foresee contagion: Turkey's problems will spread. Others envision a one-country economic blip.
Which is it?
The answer obviously matters. The global economy already faces obstacles to growth. American interest rates are rising, as the Federal Reserve tries to prevent higher inflation. U.S. President Donald Trump's trade wars are threatening. If we now add a slowdown of "emerging market" economies (China, Brazil and similar "middle-income" nations), the global expansion might sputter or halt.