The Turkish lira floats, but not on a sea of tranquillity. Since Recep Tayyip Erdogan became president in August 2014, the lira has shed 66% of its value against the U.S. dollar. Since May 14, when Mr. Erdogan announced he was taking Turkey’s monetary reins into his own hands, the lira has plunged 31%.
Turkey’s annual inflation rate reached 85% last Friday by my measurements, which use high-frequency data and account for price changes in all commodities, services and assets. This is nothing new. Inflation has ravaged Turkey…