As part of the growing search for more transparency and accountability in government finance, this article suggests guidelines for the production and dissemination of a citizens’ guide to the budget. Examples from a variety of countries help to illustrate why governments should publish an...

OECD Member countries have grown increasingly interested in the use of contract type arrangements in the 1990s as a means of improving public sector performance. This interest reflects a number of broad challenges to traditional governance structures. These challenges include the demand for...

Depuis le début des années 90, les pays Membres de l’OCDE se tournent de plus en plus vers la sous-traitance pour améliorer le rendement de la fonction publique. Cet intérêt accru est né d’un certain nombre de difficultés d’ordre général qui se posent aux structures...

The rapid increase -- over the next thirty years -- in the population share of persons above retirement age has led to a steady increase in attention paid by OECD Governments to questions concerning old age income maintenance. The attached paper looks at the proper role the Government can play...

Fiscal vulnerability describes a situation where a government is exposed to the possibility of failure to meet its aggregate fiscal policy objectives. The suggested framework for assessing vulnerability highlights four macro-fiscal aspects of vulnerability: incorrect specification of the initial...

This paper explores initiatives to date by the IMF, financial markets, and civil society organizations to assess and utilize information on fiscal transparency. The results of surveys and interviews of rating agency analysts and surveys of civil society organizations on their level of awareness...