An evaluation of the Turkish budget implementation within the framework of Law No. 5018 and the objectives of the 2021 amendments

In its simplest form, budgets can be defined as documents showing the state's income and expenditure estimates for a certain future period. According to this definition, the state budget can be viewed as a plan document in which the state's expenses and revenues are balanced and the expenses are financed. However, the development of the concept of power of purse, the spreading of social state concept and the gradual expansion of the public economy have made the budgets no longer just a tool of balancing. Different budget systems have been developed over a period of time so that budgets can fulfill their modern functions. The most modern among the modern budget systems is the performance-based budgeting system. This system is applied in Türkiye and many countries. The aim of this study is to reveal what is targeted with the budget system implemented in Türkiye and to what extent the current structure is designed to serve these goals. Within the scope of the study, firstly budget systems and the development of these systems were mentioned. Foreign and domestic sources were examined and some elements that are effective in the functioning of the system were determined based on the reports of institutions such as OECD and IBP. Then, the main structure of the Turkish budget system was given and the place of the previously determined elements in the Turkish budget system was mentioned. In the last part of the study, what was targeted with the budget system implemented with the changes made in 2021 under the names of "program-based performance budget" or "performance-based program budget" was given and the extent to which the elements in question addressed these goals was evaluated. As a result of the evaluations, it was seen that the system had a suitable structure to achieve some of the goals. However, it was understood that the changes made in 2021 were not sufficient to fully achieve the goals and some additional regulations were needed. Some suggestions were given to eliminate these deficiencies.