This thesis addresses the following problem: How a developing country needs to conduct the transition to a free market economy with particular focus on financial market reforms. Additionally, it provides a basis for explaining potential divergence from desired outcomes. We present and analyze the case of Turkey. We explore the roots of Turkey's traditionally unstable economic performance, which we have identified as being linked to weak institutions and politically-led economic management. The Turkish case shows that though internationally accredited development policies are useful guidelines for policymakers, they constitute only an initial phase of an effective transition to be completed through a domestic commitment to achieve a de-politicized institutional framework. We have used country risk scores published by independent rating agencies and other metrics in the post-institutional reform period, which we believe constitute acceptable measures of the degree to which institutional reform has been successful or not.