Public Sector Budgets

The choice of budget policy is often the leading domestic issue facing the electorate and their representatives. The budget-making process involves tax increases, expenditure reduction, and the underlying budget deficit – complex and controversial issues which require the reconciliation of national interests with those of constituent groups.

Public Sector Budgets provides an in-depth analysis of budget decisionmaking in a comparative setting, focusing on the experience of several countries including the US, Canada, Germany and the UK. Professor Ott seeks to uncover the interrelationships between budget outcomes and budget modality through a rigorous and insightful comparative analysis. Beginning with an up-to-date study of the US public sector, the political economy of budgeting at the federal level and the federal budget structure the volume continues with an overview of issues and case studies of budgeting in two federal systems of government, Canada and Germany, and one unitary form of government, the UK. The final part of the volume deals with public sector deficits and the link between public sector capital formation and economic growth.

The book presents a framework for evaluating fiscal federalism in different countries and integrating the theoretical basis for budgeting with empirical testing. It will be welcomed by economists, policymakers and commentators as a useful and timely study which leads to a clearer understanding of issues at the centre of economic and political debate.