Changement et Pratiques du Système Budgétaire pendant l’Epidémie de Covid-19 en Turquie – Budget System Change and Practices During the Covid-19 Outbreak in Turkey

There are changes in budget systems over time. The USA is at the forefront of the countries where these changes first appeared. The practices in the USA are followed by other countries along with Western countries. Starting from 1912 in the USA, a shift towards modern budget systems started instead of the classical (traditional) budget system. In this context, the first budget system that came to the agenda was the performance budget system. Finally, in the search for a new budget system, the Government Performance and Results Law (GPRA) was adopted in the USA in 1993, and the Performance-Based Budget System Based on Strategic Planning was implemented. A similar budget system has been implemented in Turkey with the Public Financial Management and Control Law No. 5018 dated 2003. The Performance Based Budget System, which is based on Strategic Planning in the USA, has been implemented in England, Australia, Denmark and Sweden based on performance contracts, and in the Netherlands as Converted to Budget Format. During the Covid-19 epidemic in Turkey, the performance-based budget system based on strategic planning in the central government budget in the 2021 fiscal year has turned into a program-based budget system in which public service programs and evaluations stand out, considering the practices in western countries. The Covid-19 epidemic process adversely affected the economic and financial balances and the budget structure. Despite the fact that the budget grows every year during the Covid-19 epidemic, the ratio of the budget deficit to the gross domestic product has maintained its level of 3.5 % in 2020 and 2021. The budget deficit target for 2022 is 3.5 %. This situation can be evaluated as a positive result of the transition to a program-based performance budget system in the central government budget starting from the 2021 fiscal year. Because, the main starting point of the changes in the budget systems is to slow down the budget expenditure increases to some extent and to ensure the budget balance. Despite everything, we can say that the transition to program-based budgeting in the state budget has made it difficult to assess the expenses generated by the Covid-19 epidemic process and the catastrophic earthquake that affected 11 provinces on February 6, 2023. In this communication, this new budget system and the budget applications in recent years will be discussed and evaluated.