Development is still on the agenda of underdeveloped or developing societies in the 21st century. In order for an economic system to pass through the stages of development effectively, it must first have realized this transformation in its “economic mentality”, as Sabri Ülgener put it. Changing minds lead to changes in behavior and, in economic terms, “outputs”. For this reason, it is important to understand the “economic mentality” correctly and even to have a grasp of its details. Literary works emerging from the society reflect many elements that are effective on the social order. One of these elements is economics. This is due to the fact that literary works are not independent of the economic situation of the periods in which they were produced. Especially in the novels, the conditions of that day are also described in the description of the subject of the work, and the lives of the heroes in the plot necessarily reflect the economic mentality of the period. In this context and specifically for this study, Tanpınar's novel The Time Adjustment Institute has been examined in order to understand the economic mentality of Turkish society. In the evaluations made, comparisons were made with Ülgener’s ideas.