Reforms for Improved Efficiency in Public Budgeting and Finance: Improvements, Disappointments, and Work-in-Progress

IF 0.9 Q4 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
J. Mikesell, Daniel R. Mullins
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引用次数: 20

Abstract

The past half-century has brought heightened expectations for what systems of budgeting and finance may be expected to deliver for the public. From systems to provide a first defense against theft and gross misappropriation, they have become systems to help lawmakers direct public resources where they can give the best public return, to help managers efficiently utilize resources under their control, and to communicate plans and results to the public. Government fiscal systems have developed more useful expenditure classification, established new measures for identifying public performance, brought nontraditional spending into control systems, and made finances considerably more transparent. Systems should, in combination with robust democratic institutions, make the public sector perform in the best interests of the citizenry. But in the face of great fiscal system improvements, governments struggle with staying fiscally sustainable, with meeting financial obligations to vulnerable populations, and even with avoiding default, receivership, or bankruptcy. Even as systems improve, government finances decline amid considerable private sector prosperity. Research over the past decade has done little to aid or explain the sweeping expectation and limited success of budget systems to transform essential elements of governance. It is the purpose of this paper to review progress in the development of robust fiscal systems, identify the major obstacles and failures, and link this evidence to the record of recent governmental financial distress, paying particular attention to the struggles of American governments. The broader questions needing to be addressed are the same questions at the forefront of public sector finance 100 years ago; however, the present focus has not been on these broader implications.
提高公共预算和财政效率的改革:改进、失望和进展
在过去的半个世纪里,人们对预算和财政系统能为公众提供什么抱有更高的期望。从防范盗窃和严重挪用的第一个防御系统,它们已经成为帮助立法者指导公共资源的系统,可以给公众带来最大的回报,帮助管理者有效地利用他们控制的资源,并向公众传达计划和结果。政府财政制度建立了更加实用的支出分类,建立了新的公共绩效考核标准,将非传统支出纳入控制体系,财政透明度大大提高。制度应与健全的民主机构相结合,使公共部门的表现符合公民的最大利益。但面对财政体系的巨大改善,各国政府仍在努力保持财政可持续性,履行对弱势群体的金融义务,甚至避免违约、破产或破产。尽管制度有所改善,但在私营部门相当繁荣的情况下,政府财政却在下降。过去十年的研究几乎没有帮助或解释预算系统在改变治理基本要素方面的广泛预期和有限成功。本文的目的是回顾健全财政体系发展的进展,确定主要障碍和失败,并将这些证据与近期政府财政困境的记录联系起来,特别关注美国政府的挣扎。需要解决的更广泛的问题,与100年前公共部门财政面临的问题相同;但是,目前的重点尚未放在这些更广泛的影响上。
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来源期刊
Public Budgeting and Finance
Public Budgeting and Finance PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION-
CiteScore
2.10
自引率
14.30%
发文量
25
期刊介绍: Public Budgeting & Finance serves as a forum for the communication of research and experiences on all facets of government finance and provides meaningful exchange between research from universities, private and nonprofit research institutes, practitioners in public financial markets, government agencies, and the experience of those who practice government budgeting and finance. Researchers, practitioners, and teachers of applied government finance turn to Public Budgeting & Finance to find understandable, reliable, and thoughtful analysis of issues important in the field. The content of the journal spans the spectrum of budget process and policy and financial management, is never limited to one level of government or even to one country, and always even-handedly crosses disciplines and approaches in applied government finance.
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