Abstract:

Public social expenditures are one of the basic tools used by states in economic, social, and other policies among public expenditures. In particular, with public social expenditures, states realize the main objectives such as ensuring justice in the distribution of income and wealth, ensuring the effective distribution of resources, providing income transfer to the disadvantaged, and improving the education and health levels of individuals. From this point of view, in this study, the relationship between public social expenditures and the level of human development on the basis of 29 OECD countries between the years 1990-2019 was investigated through panel data method. According to the results of the cointegration test conducted on the basis of Westerlund and Edgerton (2007) LM Bootstrap Cointegration Test, a long-term relationship was determined between public social expenditures and the level of human development on the basis of these countries. In addition, Emirmahmutoğlu and Köse (2011) Causality Test results showed that there is a bidirectional causality relationship between public social expenditures and human development level throughout the panel. Also, one-way causality from public expenditures to human development level in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain; In Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, a one-way causality relationship has been determined from human development level to public social expenditures. In Spain, a bidirectional causality relationship has been determined between public social expenditures and the level of human development.

Keywords: