Notes on the Nicaraguan budgeting process and the role of external cooperation

The study was written by Adolfo Acevedo and Karin Küblböck in the first half of 2010 and complemented with additional data and information in October 2010. It is based on extensive desk research, various interviews conducted in October/November of 2009 with experts, government representatives and representatives of external cooperation. The aim of the study is to provide a better understanding of the budget process in Nicaragua and of the role of external cooperation within this process. A special focus is made on the role of general budget support in this context, which started in Nicaragua in 2002 and was finally phased out in 2010. The study also gives an overview of the evolution of public income and expenditures since the 1990s.