The evaluation of public expenditure in Turkey according to the social welfare state approach

The evaluation of public expenditures in Turkey, according to the concept of the social welfare state, comprises the aim of this study.When the macro aims in the public economies are examined, one of these aims is observed to be increasing the welfare of the citizens. The states, within their economies, have been using various tools to accomplish this aim social welfare throughout the history.In the first chapter of this study, the concepts of welfare and social welfare were defined within the conceptual and development of the social welfare state; and principles, classification, tools, and objectives of the social welfare state, as well as the criticisms presented to the concept, were evaluated. The transformation of the social welfare state within the process and the changes observed on the social welfare state created by the globalization phenomenon were also examined in this chapter.In the second chapter of this study, on the other hand, the countries of Turkey, Germany, England, and Netherlands were evaluated according to the concept of the social welfare state. Social welfare state had been generally evaluated according to their systems of social insurance, social assistance, and social services for the countries of Germany, England, and Netherlands. For Turkey, however, social welfare state was examined within constitutional basis and the tools used from the foundation of the republic to the contemporary times. The amount of the reflection of the social welfare state concepts, which were expressed in the constitution, in the applications were evaluated in the further sections of the chapter.In the last chapter of the study, comparative of development of the social expenditures among the public expenditures from the foundation of the republic to the contemporary times; and comparison of the development of transfer expenditures used for the social welfare purposes, social security expenditures, education expenditures, and health expenditures with the OECD states were realized. Taxation expenditures were also mentioned in the last section. Generally, the answer to the question of whether the social expenditures in our country were sufficient in regards to the concept of social welfare state was sought with this study.Key Words: Welfare, Social Welfare, Social Welfare State,Government Expenditure, Social Expenditure