Acknowledgements

The world faces a new and more dire threat after the Spanish Flu, which killed 50 million people in 18 months 100 years ago. The fact that science and technique are so advanced is not enough to eliminate this threat.

It has been seen that the COVID-19, affecting the whole world along with Turkey in March 2020, is not only a health issue. We live in a time that continues only with the suggestions and directions of the political power and the Ministry of Health. The motto of this period, formulated with the trilogy of social distance, masks and hygiene, will continue to be remembered for many years. However, their effect will not only be to get rid of the pandemic; the period will also be referred to with its different aspects.

Although the coronavirus itself, which emerges with the pandemic, is seen as a problem, the main issue is the insufficient service and impotence of the health sector due to the epidemic. After all, mass deaths in places such as bed and intensive care will trigger social anger and panic. Consequently, this concern is the catalyst of the process; it will accelerate the process. Panic and fear will increase the effects of the epidemic on the life as a whole. Public administration will also be insufficient to tidy up the order. Therefore, countries will not be able to have healthy reactions in times of panic.

At the beginning of the period, the USA announced a package of 1 trillion dollars to get its economy out of this crisis. The FED made a commitment to purchase $700 billion in bonds. After IMF President Kristalina Georgieva said “We are ready to give the necessary support to every country”, the first application came from Iran.

The most important deficiency about this period, which reshapes our whole lives today, is that the issue is treated as a pure health issue. However, the lifestyle is forced to change as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the areas that the pandemic has forced to change, apart from health.

The subject has many historical, legal, social, psychological, technical and economic dimensions. It is not just about a simple flu case. We are at the begin­ning of a process that can have an impact for many years. In this process, this book aims to discuss the pandemic issue in depth, by bringing the field experts together.

The book is composed of three Parts:

Part I addresses the global public nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fiscal policies implemented in epidemics from past to present and increasing public expenditures.

Part II is composed of the studies addressing the issue in terms of Turkish economy. Four studies are included in this part. The evaluation of COVID-19 in terms of Turkish Tax Law and an empirical research on tax perception in this period includes evaluations on the income side of this part. Evaluations on the cost side are addressed in two different studies. The first one analyses the transfer expenditures dimension, whereas the other study analyses the support provided by various countries during the pandemic and the evaluations on the budget management in Turkey.

Part III includes projections regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. There are four studies in this part. Of course, attention has been drawn to the future of possible financial trends after the epidemic. In addition to the technological side of the subject and robotization, digital currencies are examined in this part. The issue of refugees, who are the victims of the deepest problems of the world and one of the most vulnerable segments, has also taken its place in this book as the victims of this age. The study, in which the content of the increasing social media shares of people staying at home and living with social distancing concerns are subjected to big data analysis, constitutes the final study of the book.

The book is a product of great effort and self-devotion. We thank all researchers and experts who contributed to the process and we hope that the study will be beneficial to students, researchers and everyone who are interested in the subject.

Izmir, Turkey Prof. Dr. Bernur Acikgbz

March 2021 Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Attila Acar