SOSYAL TRANSFER HARCAMALARI-GELİR EŞİTSİZLİĞİ İLİŞKİSİ: KARŞILAŞTIRMALI PANEL NEDENSELLİK ANALİZİ

Pek çok gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülke açısından gelir eşitsizliği seviyelerinde meydana gelen artışlar; kamunun vergiler, transfer ödemeleri ile kamusal mal ve hizmet sunumu aracılığıyla ekonomiye müdahalesinin yetersiz ve etkinsiz gerçekleşmesi nedeniyle kaçınılmaz olarak ortaya çıkmaktadır. Özellikle, kamu harcamaları çerçevesinden bakıldığında düşük gelir gruplarına yapılan transfer ödemelerinin gelir eşitsizliğini azaltmakta kilit bir rol oynadığı öne sürülebilmektedir. Zira, birçok çalışmada toplam gelir eşitsizliğinin analiz edilmesinde en yaygın kullanılan ölçüt olan Gini katsayısının kamunun yeniden dağıtım politikaları içerisinde en fazla transfer harcamalarına duyarlı olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, sosyal transfer harcamaları ve gelir eşitsizliği ilişkisinin ülkelerin gelir düzeyindeki farklılıkların analize dâhil edilerek ortaya koyulmasıdır. Bu çerçevede, analize konu edilen 60 adet ülke Dünya Bankası’nın sınıflandırmasına göre ayrıştırılmış ve 1996-2018 yıllarını kapsayan dönemde sosyal transfer harcamaları-gelir eşitsizliği ilişkisinin tespiti için Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel nedensellik analizi kullanılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular, hem yüksek gelir grubuna dâhil ülkelerde hem de yüksek-orta ve düşük-orta gelir grubuna dâhil ülkelerde sosyal transfer harcamaları ve gelir eşitsizliği arasında çift yönlü nedensellik ilişkisi bulunduğuna işaret etmektedir. Ancak, yüksek gelir grubuna dâhil ülkelerde bu ilişki göreli olarak daha güçlü ortaya çıkmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Gelir Eşitsizliği, Gini Katsayısı, Sosyal Transfer Harcamaları

THE RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIAL TRANSFER EXPENDITURES-INCOME INEQUALITY: A COMPARATIVE PANEL CAUSALITY ANALYSIS

Increases in income inequality levels for many developed and developing countries inevitably arise due to the inadequate and inefficient intervention of the public in the economy through taxes, transfer payments and the provision of public goods and services. From the public expenditure perspective, it can be asserted that especially transfer payments to low-income groups play a key role in reducing income inequality. In many studies, it has been concluded that the Gini coefficient, which is the most widely used criterion in analyzing the total income inequality, is the most reactive to transfer expenditures among the public redistribution policies. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between social transfer expenditures and income inequality by including the discrepancies in income levels of the countries. In this framework, 60 countries subject to the analysis have been separated according to the classification of the World Bank and Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality analysis has been implemented to determine the relationship between social transfer expenditures and income inequality in the period of 1996-2018. The findings point that there is a two-way causality relationship between social transfer expenditures and income inequality in high-income countries and high-middle and low-middle income countries. However, this relationship emerges relatively robust in high-income countries.

Keywords:

Income Inequality Gini Coefficient, Social Transfer Expenditures, Panel Causality Analysis,

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