Extraordinary Distribution Shock in Extraordinary Times: An Assessment Based on Top Industrial Enterprises in Türkiye

The post-COVID-19 era can be described as “interesting times” marked by a convergence of numerous extraordinary developments across the world. Türkiye, too, faced unprecedented challenges during this extraordinary period. Entering the pandemic with fragile economic balances and in search of a new economic model, Türkiye largely adopted policies structured around a “low interest-high exchange rate” axis. These policies were later termed the “Türkiye Model”. As with all economic choices, such strategies inevitably produced winners and losers in society. This study aims to analyze the impact of the economic policies pursued during the pandemic on Türkiye’s major industrial enterprises through the lens of distributional relations. The study presents a detailed analysis of functional income distribution data from the ISO 500 and the second 500 industrial enterprises, considering the sectors in which these firms operate, classified by technological intensity. The findings indicate that the economic choices made during the pandemic reduced labor’s share of income, positioning wage earners as the principal losers of the period. In contrast, industrial capital -particularly firms operating in low- and medium-technology-intensive sectors within the second 500- benefited from the policies implemented during this period and strengthened their position within the distributional structure.