Fiscal policy and its impact on income distribution in Turkey between 2000-2021

Equitable and fair distribution of the values produced in the economy and social income is one of the main goals in all economies. However, it is seen that the production factors in the economy do not benefit from the total income produced at the same rate and the income distribution deteriorates over time. In order to prevent the deterioration of income distribution in the society and to eliminate inequality, governments try to intervene in the functioning of the market and to eliminate income distribution inequality by various means, primarily fiscal policy instruments. According to the liberal economic view, the market solves the basic problems such as economic growth, unemployment and income distribution within its own balance. However, historical experience shows that there are situations where the intervention of the state is necessary. Public expenditures as fiscal policy instruments, which is one of the efficiency methods of the state in the economy, are handled in four main groups: public expenditures, tax policies, budget expenditures and borrowing. With these tools, governments intervene in the functioning of the economy and try to ensure that the strata of society distribute the income fairly. Türkiye is one of the countries where income inequality is constantly on the agenda. When we look at the fiscal policy practices implemented in Turkey in the last 20 years, it is seen that income transfer is tried to be made by means of fiscal policy to those who have a low share of social income, especially to the disadvantaged segments of society.When we look at the results of the fiscal policies implemented in Turkey in the 2002-2022 period, it is seen that there is a significant level of income transfer to the lower income groups, especially through transfers, which is one of the budget sub-items. However, when the economic and fiscal policies implemented in the last 20 years are evaluated as a whole, it is seen that the upper income groups gain from these policies rather than the lower income groups. The fact that the Gini Coefficient, which is one of the most important indicators of equality in income distribution, has reached worse levels compared to the 2000s, and the share of the upper income groups among the shares of 20% income groups has increased, can be considered as a clear indicator of this. Keywords: Fiscal policies, public expenditures, gini coefficient, lorenz curve.