Evaluation of constitutional economic theory in terms of Turkey (1980-2018)

After the second world war, the state's authority in economic life increased with the change in the understanding of the social state and implemented Keynesian policies. This situation continued by the 1970s and after that, the state's interference in economic life started to be questioned as a result of the stagflation suffered worldwide. The reason for this is that politicians acting with the goal of vote maximization facilitate political and economic corruption by using the state administration for their political purposes. Such problems are analyzed within the framework of Public Choice Theory and Constitutional Economic Theory. Constitutional Economic Theory basically argues for the necessity of a limitation placed on the unavoidable growth of the public. As a solution, it argues that the rules of the game should be determined well in order to limit the powers of political powers and to protect the economic rights and freedoms of the individual. This study evaluates the effects of political governments' policy implementation by using policy instruments such as budget borrowing and public expenditures on fiscal discipline in Turkey during the 1980-2018 period. After 1980, Turkey took a series of measures to limit the political powers and bureaucracy, especially the stand-by agreements with the IMF. In As a result of the financial crisis in 1994 Although a series of measures were taken, this situation could not be sustained for a long time. Fiscal rules gained importance with the stand-by agreements made in the early 1990s and the legal and structural regulations made in the early 2000s. With the Transition to a Strong Economy Program, a series of new measures were taken and legal arrangements were made. Although the 2010 Draft Fiscal Rules Law was publicized, it did not find a place in practice. In this framework, the main reasons for the deterioration of fiscal discipline in Turkey are discussed and suggestions for the solution of the problem are presented. Keywords: Constitutional Economic Theory, Election Economy, Fiscal Rules, Political Conjuncture Theories