Aug 24, 1996
The expenditure management system described in this paper supports the Canadian government’s objective of making the best use of taxpayers’ dollars to deliver quality services. The system is built on the principle of funding new initiatives or priorities by reviewing existing expenditures and then reallocating money. This will foster greater fiscal responsibility and help the government meet its fiscal targets. It will require ministers to look for funds in their existing resources and ensure that public spending is integrated into the government strategic plan, namely the annual budget. At the same time, ministers will receive more autonomy and flexibility within a corporate framework to manage their resources to best meet the priorities of the people, organizations, and businesses they serve.
Aug 22, 1996
This publication provides an overview of New Zealand’s State sector financial management. The system includes the role and information needs of Parliament in approving and scrutinising government expenditure, the tools available to Ministers to focus public resources on the government’s priorities and to set expectations of departments and other government agencies, and the role of departments in ensuring taxpayer’s money is used appropriately.
Jul 22, 1996
Reference book and training manual addressed to public administrators in transitional economies, and in particular to officials with budgeting and policy-making responsibilities. It compiles the papers presented at the Multicountry Seminar in Ljubljana (April 1996) focusing on four major areas of the relationship between budgeting and policy-making: 1) a comprehensive look at the current state of theory, practice, solutions, trends, and outstanding problems; 2) preparation of policies and budgets, including legislative ratification; 3) implementation, evaluation, and control of policies and budgets; and 4) a review of the utilization of state-controlled enterprises and the administration of social security schemes.
By Alberto Alesina, Ricardo Hausmann, Rudolf Hommes, and Ernesto H. Stein,
May 22, 1996
Information on Latin American budget institutions with examples of transparent procedures related to fiscal discipline.
Apr 19, 1996
This budget brief encompasses the period from 1978 to 1996 and proposes answers to whether California’s tax rates are excessively high, and if the tax burden on households and businesses in California is out-of-line with that of similar states. The article offers a detailed summary of how the tax policy in California has evolved through the past two decades and finally concludes that while California compares favorably to other states with respect to tax burden, the state lags far behind in terms of critical investments in education and infrastructure. This article would be of particular interest to those who need specific information on previous tax practices in California.
Jan 24, 1996
Reviews guidelines for government departments intended to allow for quality control and foster government accountability.
By Dominique van de Walle,
Jun 24, 1995
Public spending is a potentially powerful instrument for fighting poverty. Generally, what is needed is universalism in certain spending categories (basic services) and finer targeting in others (for providing safety nets, for example).
By Ke-young Chu, Sanjeev Gupta, Benedict Clements, Daniel Hewitt, Sergio Lugares, Jerald Schitt, Ludger Schukneck, and Ger Schwartz,
Jan 22, 1995
Examines issues related to the productivity of public expenditures. The appendix provides a summary of the composition of public expenditure for high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries, keeping in view the limitations of such cross-country comparisons for the assessment of expenditure priorities.
By Joao Pinherro,
Feb 22, 1994
Example of a process for establishing access to government information.
By Tom Wileman and John Holmes,
Jan 24, 1994
This study focuses on the reform of the core public service in New Zealand. It examines the principal stages of a decade of reforms, including commercialization, corporatization, and restructuring undertaken primarily over the period from 1984 to 1987, fundamental changes in the approach to management and accountability, begun in 1988 and 1989, and more recent initiatives which have perpetuated and consolidated the reforms.
