Public education expenditures in Turkey and comparison with OECD countries

Education is essential for a country. The development of the country's economy is provided by new technology. New technologies are formed by educated individuals. In this direction, education is essential for technological development. Education plays an important role in economic growth and increasing international competitiveness. Therefore, education service has individual, social and economic effects. This situation reveals the necessity of financing and providing education service by the public sector. Education service, which has the feature of affecting the country both economically and socially, is offered by the public as a semi-public good and service. The aim of this study is to introduce the education expenditures made by the public sector in primary, secondary and higher education institutions in Turkey and to reveal their similarities and differences when compared to OECD countries. In this direction, the first part of the study focuses on the general framework of education and public education expenditures. In the second part, the presentation, financing and development of public education expenditures in Turkey are discussed. In the last part, the presentation of public education expenditures and financing models in OECD countries are discussed and a comparison of public education expenditures in Turkey and OECD countries in terms of some economic and social indicators is made. As a result of the research, it was determined that the appropriation allocated to primary education, secondary education and higher education increased in Turkey, but when compared with OECD countries, the share allocated to primary and secondary education in GDP was below the OECD average, while the share allocated to higher education was above the OECD average. In addition, it has been determined that public expenditures per student are below the OECD average and that Turkey is the country that spends the least per student. When the share of public education expenditures in GDP in OECD countries is evaluated in terms of some economic and social indicators, countries with a relatively high ratio of public education expenditures to GDP have been relatively successful. It has been determined that countries with a relatively low ratio of public education expenditures to GDP are relatively unsuccessful. When the share of public education expenditures in GDP in Turkey is evaluated in terms of some economic and social indicators, it has been concluded that it is among the most unsuccessful countries and exhibits a relatively similar situation with countries with a similar level of development.