The federal budget process is a compilation of many rules and procedures, enacted primarily over the past century. Initially neutral as to budget outcome, that process, by the mid-1980s, had evolved to emphasize reducing the deficit. And the budget enforcement procedures put in place to control...

Austerity has become a widely used term in economic research and popular media as many countries have recently implemented deficit reduction policies. This article begins by exploring definitions of austerity used in research and the ways these different definitions impact analysis of policy...

Legislatures require reliable, unbiased information to be able to participate constructively in formulating the budget. This article explores the value of an independent budget capacity located in the legislature for expanding parliament’s role in budgeting and for holding the executive...

Long-term fiscal projections provide a basis to discuss the sustainability of current public policies over an extended period (ten years or more) against select fiscal indicator(s). They do so by modelling future government expenditures and revenues based upon a number of explicit demographic,...

Norway is a prosperous country with a healthy economy and a very high standard of living. Norway provides a truly unique example of long-term budgetary planning through its successful management of oil assets by means of the Government Pension Fund – Global. This article examines the annual...

This article discusses issues regarding budget process rules in the context of the current pattern of rising fiscal deficits. It begins by explaining the premise that budget process rules have multiple objectives, and so must be judged according to multiple criteria. Prominent among those...