Controlling Public Expenditure: The Changing Roles of Central Budget Agencies ? Better Guardians?

One of the most important functions of modern government is to marshal and deploy resources to achieve desired objectives and outcomes. This task is overseen by the Central Budget Agencies (such as Ministries of Finance and Treasuries) who have the responsibility of generating tax revenue, and controlling and allocating public expenditure.

This extensive comparative study investigates the changing nature and role of Central Budget Agencies (CBAs) in ten countries reflecting a spectrum of different institutional and constitutional contexts. Eighteen expert contributors offer detailed accounts of the various trajectories that have occurred within their respective CBAs, set against the changing political environment in which they operate. A recurring theme throughout is an evaluation of the power and agenda-setting roles of CBAs, assessing how their influence has grown or waned over time. An important feature of the book is that each chapter attempts to incorporate external scholarly analyses with internal practitioner views.

Four key areas are examined in each of the CBAs, including:

• the changing roles and responsibilities of CBAs
• the politics of the budget process and the influence of CBAs
• administrative and post-administrative cultures inside government
• future prospects and directions for the CBAs.

The original research presented in this book provides a new window into the world of CBAs, adding an important contribution to the scholarly research on public finance and government budgeting. It will also assist many CBAs to re-evaluate their roles and contributions to public budgeting and public sector management. This volume is required reading for anyone wanting to gain greater insight into whether CBAs really are the best guardians of the public purse.

Edited by John Wanna, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Australia, Lotte Jensen, Professor of Management, Politics and Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark and Jouke de Vries, Professor of Governance and Public Policy, University of Groningen and Dean of Campus Fryslân, Leeuwarden,the Netherlands