A Practical Study on Appropriations and Outlays Allocated in Central Government Budgets for Research and Development Activities

Abstract

Development, renewal and competitiveness of an institution or an enterprise is dependent on its capability to compete with current market conditions. This capability requires continuous development and especially investments in relevant areas. This case applies to public institutions and organizations, too. This practical study addresses the appropriations and outlays allocated for research and development (R&D) activities for local administrations. The data used in the study were analyzed in consideration of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) data on “central government budget appropriations and outlays on research and development, 2014-2015”. The data acquired from TUIK were analyzed through the E-Views 8.0 software. Factors affecting the R&D investments were determined through regression and correlation analyses. Panel data analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. In consequence of the analysis regarding local administrations, 14 areas were determined for research and development activities. The investments on infrastructure works, housing, green areas, playgrounds and the Internet and information technologies were found to be the highest among these research and development areas. One interesting fact is that the local administrations with close relations with the ruling party have higher R&D budgets while the R&D budgets for other local administrations are very low or nonexistent. Another fact that was found is that the Turkish government is following a very unstable path in this respect, as shown by the fact that the budgets of some international organizations and enterprises allocated for research and development correspond to at least 10% of their general budget and by the comparison of this percentage with the budget allocated for research and development activities in Turkey. © 2015 AENSI Publisher All rights reserved.