Extensive neo-liberal policies by then Prime Minister Turgut Özal to centralize the country's economy, caused almost all Adana-based companies to move their headquarters to Istanbul. The decline in cotton planting in the region raised the raw material cost for manufacturing, thus the city has seen a wave of plant closures starting from the mid-1990s. Young professionals fled the city, contributing to Adana's status as the top brain drain city of Turkey. Financial and human capital flight from Adana further increased since 2002 with the current national governing party, AKP, due to neo-liberal centralization policies similar to Özal's and in addition, hidden policy not to invest in major projects in a city nonaligned with AKP version of conservatism. In 2010, unemployment in the city reached a record high of 19.1 percent. After 20 years of stagnation, the economy of Adana is picking up recently with investments in the tourism and service industry, wholesale and retail sectors and the city is re-shaping as a regional center.