Turkish Economy Contracts, Posing Challenge for Erdogan

Economists anticipate a full-year recession amid an outflow of foreign investment

ISTANBUL—The Turkish economy, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, contracted sharply in the second quarter, jeopardizing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s central political pledge of rapidly reviving the nation’s economic prosperity.

Turkey’s output shrank 9.9% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, and 11% compared with the first quarter of 2020, the national statistical agency said on Monday. Turkey suffered from the near paralysis of global air travel, which left its resorts starved for tourists,…