Domestic borrowing in Turkey: An econometric analysis on debt burden and debt maturity

With the increasing operation areas of governments and transition from classical- to social-state, public expenditures have increased over time. When increasing public expenditures could not be financed by ordinary resources, other sources such as public debt was used. Especially domestic debt became a frequently used instrument by the governments. Today, domestic public debt can become one of the most important economic problems of countries unless it is managed with an efficient debt management system. In Turkey, domestic borrowing has been used since the Ottoman Empire Era and, currently, become an important part of country's economy, where debt sustainability has often been on the agenda of policy makers. The domestic public debt has been %16 of GDP by the end of 2018. In our study, the historical development and the structure of public debt in Turkey are analyzed, beside the analysis on the relationship between debt burden and debt maturity, which are the essential elements of domestic debt management. Approaches regarding maturity structure in optimal debt management are evaluated and it is seen that policies implemented in Turkey are compatible with the literature, especially after 2002. According to the econometric estimations in this study, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between debt burden and debt maturity in Turkey in the 2004-2018 period.