Promoting Fiscal Transparency the Complementary Roles of the Imf, Financial Markets and Civil Society (original) (raw)
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The IMF has been leading efforts to develop and implement Codes of Monetary and Fiscal Transparency. Such Codes aim to increase disclosure of public sector information on the Internet-representing a type of "e-transparency." Do such codes and increased Internet-based public sector information achieve their objectives? Much e-government theory sees electronic presence and e-transparency as a first step toward transformationary e-government. Yet, e-transparency itself represents a transformation in e-government. This paper will first describe the results of a private-sector based assessment of fiscal and monetary transparency and report cross-country ratings. Second, it will describe a new method of assessment which emphasizes the role of knowledge management and the critical role played by assessment project design. Lastly, this paper will discuss the extent to which such e-government efforts aimed at greater transparency achieve broader objectives -- such as increased trus...
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IMF Working Papers, 2012
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FISCAL TRANSPARENCY AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
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SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
This paper uses new data on fiscal transparency for a cross-section of countries; these data possess several advantages. First, the data are based on in-depth reports using a standardized methodology and protocol. Second, this study covers 82 countries, more than previous comparable studies. Third, the fiscal measures used have been obtained with the collaboration of government authorities, which makes them particularly reliable. Finally, the data collection has been undertaken at a high level. These new data permit examination of a relevant but little-studied issue, the role of institutional quality in a country's fiscal transparency. It is shown that there is in fact a causal relationship between institutions and transparency. The findings are robust to changes in specification and a host of transparency sub-measures.
The effect of fiscal transparency on corruption: A panel cross‐country analysis
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Both academicians and practitioners have advocated for increased fiscal transparency in government as a means of promoting budget discipline, improving functioning of the public sector, fostering greater accountability, and fighting the global menace of corruption. Despite worldwide calls for greater disclosure, empirical analyses of whether and how fiscal transparency actually affects governance outcomes are still limited. This study draws on public choice and principal-agent theories to demonstrate how public disclosure of budgetary information helps deter government corruption. The data from 95 countries over the period 2006-14 provide evidence that more fiscally transparent countries are perceived as less corrupt. We also find that fiscal transparency matters most at the final stages of the budget process when information disclosure reflects actual government spending. Data also confirm that a Citizens Budget can serve as a strong anti-corruption tool. 1 | INTRODUCTION Transparency is widely recognized as a pillar of good governance (e.g., Piotrowski and Van Ryzin 2007; Kosack and Fung 2014; Neshkova and Rosenbaum 2015). Access to information about government activities and resultant outcomes is critical for ensuring democratic accountability (e.g., Heald 2003; Alt et al. 2006). As a term, transparency in government refers to 'openness of the governance system through clear processes and procedures and easy access to public information for citizens' (Kim et al. 2005, p. 649). Transparency has many facets, and fiscal transparency is a particularly crucial aspect of democratic governance due to the central role of budgets in government operations. Kopits and Craig (1998, p. 1) define fiscal transparency as 'openness toward the public at large about government structure and functions, fiscal policy intentions, public sector accounts, and budget projections'. When budgets and
External Audit and Fiscal Transparency: An Empirical Analysis
Public Administration Issues
The aim of this study is to examine the socio-economic, institutional, and political factors affecting external audit, with the use of an international comparison. In addition, the effect of external audit on fiscal transparency was analyzed. Although many empirical studies in the literature handle the factors affecting fiscal transparency, there are only a few empirical studies that focus on the factors affecting external audit and the impact of external audits on fiscal transparency. However, there is not one study dealing with the factors affecting external audit through making use of international comparisons. In this study we attempt to discover the factors affecting external audit and examine, using an international comparison, the impact of external audits on fiscal transparency. The Open Budget Survey published by the International Budget Partnership in 2017 was used to measure external audits. In the study, consisting of 115 countries, the effect of democratization level, g...