External public debt management: Use of derivative instruments

Public debt is a financing tool that is frequently applied for increasing public spending in the face of increasing public costs or for financing large countrywide public investments.There have been many different schools of though and theory put forth on public debt from ancient times to the present day. The impossibility of achieving an equilibrium between market conditions and the understanding the state?s role of the social state in the economy is a reality accepted by virtually every country today. Taken in this context, for those countries that lack the internal dynamics for public debt financing to go the route of external borrowing to cover public debt is an unusual phenomenon.Budget deficits in developing countries have reached serious levels due to many global crisis?s that have developed in International markets, and cyclical changes that occur as a result of inflationary pressures. These countries which do not have a robust economy and financial structure had to resort to foreign borrowing to finance public deficits.This process of borrowing that gained substantial acceleration especially during 1980s, effecting the debt rates and services of developing countries? economies and thus jeopardizing the status of countries that has been the lender. This situation revealed that developing countries needed to focus on public domestic and external debt management. From this period forward, the debt management issues such as debt stock limit, risk ratio, internal and external debt sustainability gained importance for developing countries. During the same period, the derivative products emerged as a result of the studies performed in order to reduce the risks brought by borrowing in international markets. These products began to be used effectively by many developed countries to avoid risks such as exchange rate, interest rate, inflation. These products that were used in these markets grew as time went on and with the promotion of certain economic and financial institutions began to attract the attention of developing countries.The situation in Turkey was not different than in other developing countries. Especially after 1980, the external public debt levels increased sharply by means of economic and financial reforms that had been performed during this period. The derivative instruments which ensure the risk management and which emerged in the '80s as an alternative in the public internal and external debt management only began to attract attention at the end of the 90s in Turkey and the trading volume could be increased with the opening of the Derivatives Market in 2002. But this interest remained confined only to the private sector.It is not possible to ignore the benefits that may be obtained by use of derivative instruments when the past experiences of Turkey are observed.In this study it is explained the importance of a sound external public debt management and the advantages of use of derivative instruments within this frame. It is signified that evaluation and development of the derivative market will be advantageous, both in order for the economic development plans to be executed in a more clear way and in terms of assistance to the monetary policies to become successful.