Public Financial Management Responses to the COVID-19: General Overview and Policy Practices in Turkey

Abstract

The world faced an unpreceded crisis in 2020. Following the first COVID-19 case in China, many countries have closed their borders and introduced measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Nonetheless, the devastating effects of novel coronavirus spread across the globe. Many governments have endeavored to ensure accessibility of their health systems and sustain their health system. COVID-19 has had profound impacts and pressures on health systems. It has also led to severe social and economic risks. To protect public health and alleviate the risks posed by the COVID-19 on national economies, great many countries have adopted anti-covid policies. In this process, public financial management (PFM) systems and their components have been at the heart of anti-covid policies. While well-designed PFM systems have enabled the effective implementation of anti-covid policies, they have also prevented further deterioration in the financial structure. Thereby, PFM responses to the COVID-19 crisis have attracted considerable interest among both policymakers and academics. Given the fact that PFM systems may play an important role in easing unprecedented adverse effects of the COVID-19 crisis, this study focuses on PFM practices that is essential to minimize the adverse impacts of the COVID-19. To this end, it aims to evaluate what kind of solutions should be introduced in response to the COVID-19 Crisis by the governments, with a focus on Turkey’s experience.