Readability Analysis of Laws Related to Public Financial Responsibility and State Budget: A Comparison of Selected Countries

Abstract

In this study, various acts including regulations of public financial management, fiscal responsibility, and state budget in the selected six countries were subjected to different readability tests, and an international comparison was made. The fiscal responsibility act of six countries – Turkey, the UK, India, Australia, Canada, and Pakistan – were included in the study and analyzed. Each country was analyzed under its official language. Since English is an official language of all of the countries except for Turkey, the authors have evaluated the fiscal responsibility acts of these countries using the following readability tests: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning-Fog, and Dale-Chall. Additionally, Public Financial Management and Control Law No. 5018 approved in Turkey was analyzed by the Ateşman Readability Test which was uniquely designed for Turkish grammar rules. The acts discussed in the study were analyzed not only as a whole but also in parts and subsections. According to the results of the study, the levels of readability of the existing laws in most of the selected countries are very difficult to understand for a university graduate. However, when the readability level of the British Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act tested as parts and subsections and a whole, it was rated at a level a university student could understand. This study analyses the readability and intelligibility of acts related to fiscal responsibility and the state budget in six selected countries, adopting Anglo-Saxon public administration model and making an inter-country evaluation. Since it is important that citizens have enough information about legislation for a citizen-oriented understanding, a legislation system that is understood by the larger part of the society is essential.

Citation

Göksu, G.G. and Dumlupinar, S. (2021), "Readability Analysis of Laws Related to Public Financial Responsibility and State Budget: A Comparison of Selected Countries", Grima, S. and Boztepe, E. (Ed.) Contemporary Issues in Public Sector Accounting and Auditing (Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis, Vol. 105), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 91-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1569-375920200000105007