KARADENIZ 14TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL SCIENCES OCTOBER 13 - 15, 2023 BATUMI
THE EFFECT OF INFLATION ON EXTERNAL PUBLIC DEBT: NEW EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR TÜRKİYE
Yayıncı:
Academy Global Publishing House
External public borrowing is one of the significant financial instruments through which governments meet the financing needs of the public sector by obtaining resources from other countries, international financial institutions and commercial banks. In developing countries, energy imports, current account deficits, budget deficits, insufficient domestic savings, refinancing, debt principal and interest payments increase the public sector’s need for external borrowing. Although external borrowing initially transfers resources to the country, however, the inefficient and unproductive use of these funds make countries vulnerable to exchange rate shocks. Furthermore, the use of public external debt to cover budget deficits instead of productive activities restricts economic growth and leads to inflationary pressures. Similarly, Türkiye’s chronic high inflation, current account deficit, and unstable growth stemming fromstructural economic issues make it difficult to effectively utilize external resources. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between external public debt stock. For this purpose, the study investigated the effect of inflation on the public external debt stock in Türkiye for the period of 2006:Q1-2023:Q2 using time series analysis techniques. In the study is used by autoregressive distributed lag model and error correction model methods. According to the empirical results, a positive relationship between external public debt stock, inflation, real effective exchange rate, and trade openness, while a negative relationship with gross domestic product has been identified in the long term in Türkiye. Furthermore, the results have indicated that inflation has the highest impact on the increase of external public debt. The result of the error correction model has shown that short-term deviations have been eliminated, and the longterm equilibrium level has been reached. The findings have indicated that policymakers in Türkiye should prioritize addressing inflation in the sustainability of external public debt.