Budget Accountability and Participation (original) (raw)
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Measuring and Promoting Budget Transparency: The Open Budget Index as a Research and Advocacy Tool
Governance, 2011
Transparency in public budgeting has been a recognized principle of sound governance for a long time. Yet, reliable measures of budget transparency are hard to come by. This article introduces the Open Budget Index (OBI), a new tool based on surveys by independent researchers that compares key budget information published by governments across the world. Data from the latest survey, published in 2010 and covering 94 countries, reveal that on average, the state of budget transparency around the world is poor. Countries with lower incomes, weaker democratic institutions, and higher dependency on foreign aid and hydrocarbon sales tend to be less transparent. However, a number of countries have improved the quantity and coverage of the budget information that they publish, in some cases following civil society pressure based on OBI findings. More generally, OBI data help identify easy steps that governments and other actors could take to further improve budget transparency.
Budgetary Transparency and Democracy: The Effectiveness of Control Institutions
The objective of this paper is to identify the effectiveness of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and of the legislatures in relation to the fiscal transparency of countries. To test the theory empirically, an analysis was also conducted of how transparency improves accountability and how transparency and accountability jointly relate to the degree of democracy of a country and to the perception of corruption. To conduct the proposed test, multiple linear regression models were used with the ordinary minimum squares method. The data were obtained from official reports on transparency, democracy and corruption, such as Open Budget Partnership, Transparency International, The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Index and Index Mundi. The results have shown that countries in which the legislatures and the SAIs have greater constitutionally determined interdependence have greater budgetary transparency. It was also found that countries that are more transparent have more and better accountability mechanisms and, consequently, a greater level of democracy and less corruption, all of which points to the importance of transparency in the process of democratic consolidation.
The Role of Participation, Disclosure, and Transparency in the Government Budget
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 2020
Purpose: This study aims to highlight the concept of public budget to become acquainted with the notion of participation. We also try to clarify the role of social organizations in the general budget and Shed light on the role of the State in the disclosure and transparency of public funds. Methodology: Practically, the study depends on a questionnaire prepared statistically to analyze Financial Statements of the General Budget for three frequent years (2015, 2016, and 2017). Main Findings: The aftereffects of the monetary and measurable examination show that there is no straightforwardness and exposure by the legislature during its distribution of the general financial plan of the last and last records. In addition, incomprehensiveness of the financial plan by a proper measure of straightforwardness and divulgence, the Ministry of Finance reports incorporate information and disaggregated information on government consumption, open obligation, and how to cover inability. Application...
2013
R allocating, and spending public resources are among the primary functions and policy instruments of any government. Government budgets, as well as off-budget fiscal instruments such as state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds, profoundly affect economies, societies, and ecoystems. Decisionmaking around government revenues and expenditures has historically been shrouded in secrecy—the purview of heads of state, finance ministers, and central bankers, along with a few select officials in executive agencies. Often, other ministries, government branches (including parliaments), the business community, civil society organizations, and the broader citizenry have had little or no access to information on public financial management. The quantity and quality of engagement and the inclusion of these nonexecutive actors in fiscal decisionmaking and oversight processes have been severely limited. In recent years, however, interest and action with respect to transparency, participat...
The Government Budget: A Critical Appraisal with reference to transparency and accountability
This working paper critically appraises the modality/process/mechanism of the government budget formulation, enactment, implementation and monitoring & auditing in Sri Lanka. It tends to address the following questions: (i) What is a government budget? (ii) What are the laws governing the budget (national, provincial & local)? (iii) How is it prepared, enacted, implemented, and monitored & audited? (iv) What are the best practices in budget formulation, enactment, implementation and monitoring & auditing internationally? (v) How can the government improve the accountability and transparency of the budget? (vi) What could be done to improve the technical capacity of people’s representatives in parliament to effectively and efficiently contribute to budget debates?
Budget transparency and financial sustainability
Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management
PurposeThis study investigates the transparency of budgets by examining its relationship with financial sustainability, which is a central area of research in the public-sector context.Design/methodology/approachReferring to the public value framework, a large sample of 110 countries has been investigated, implementing econometric models where the dependent variable is the Open Budget Index (OBI), published by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), and the test variables are different indicators of financial sustainability.FindingsThe results that emerge from the analysis suggest that budget transparency could be positively associated with the financial sustainability of governments, beyond the traditional aims of enhancing citizens' trust and participation.Originality/valueThis research offers important insights for policy areas, suggesting that improving budget transparency could be beneficial for public administrations because of the positive association with financial s...