Journal of Public Policy · 1985 · 25 citations · 27 references
Public AffairsPublic FinancePublic PolicyFiscal PolicyPublic EconomicsPublic ExpenditureBudgetary ReformExpenditure ControlFiscal ReformGovernment BudgetingGovernment ExpenditureSpending ControlsBudgetary Expenditure ControlDecentralized Public ExpenditureGovernment Expenditure ControlPublic Expenditure ControlPublic Expenditure ReformPublic Finance ReformPublic Investment CutsPublic Spending Control
ABSTRACT Nearly every OECD country has faced a scissors crisis in public finance since the worldwide depression of the mid-1970s; in slow growth economies public spending has been rising faster than tax revenues. In response, a great variety of methods have been employed to control public spending. Governments have sought to: impose global ceilings on spending; modify indexation rules; decentralize decremental decisions among government agencies; improve cash flow management; devise balanced packages; introduce new constitutional rules; provide incentives for retrenchment; and privatize public sector activities. Efforts to impose cuts in spending have been directed at the bureaucracy; transfer payments; subsidies; local and regional government; and quangos. The conclusion emphasizes that retrenchment policy presupposes a shift in the balance of power between guardians and spenders.
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Political Control of the Economy.
Julian Le Grand, Edward R. Tufte · Economica · 1979 · 1.3K citations