Public Sector Governance and Accountability
15 items available
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This series aims to advance the objective of a well-functioning public sector that delivers quality public services consistent with citizen preferences and that fosters private market-led growth while managing fiscal resources prudently. These books disseminate conceptual guidance and lessons from practices and facilitate learning from each others’ experiences on ideas and practices that promote responsive, responsible, and accountable public governance in developing countries. This series distills current wisdom and presents tools of analysis for improving the efficiency, equity, and efficacy of the public sector. Leading public policy experts and practitioners have contributed to this series. The final volume of this series appeared in 2008.
Items in this collection
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Publication
Tech Savvy: Advancing GovTech Reforms in Public Administration
(Washington, DC, 2022)GovTech is one strategy that governments have adopted to more effectively respond to citizen needs and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public service delivery. Yet, all too often a government’s information and communications technology (ICT) projects do not deliver on their promise, and the public sector has a history of projects falling short of expectations, going over time and budget and taking years to deliver on their potential. There are a number of challenges that need to be overcome for GovTech solutions to work, and this report focuses on three key challenges that the World Development Report (WDR) 2016 called the analog complements, which underpin effective digital transformation in the public sector: a whole-of-government coordination, civil service digital skill development, and an innovative culture in public sector organizations. This report focuses on three key analogue complements that can get in the way of successful GovTech projects: coordination, capacity, and culture. -
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Enhancing Public Sector Performance in Latin America and the Caribbean
(Washington, DC, 2021)This note provides an overview of the LCR Governance Practice’s response to challenges and the Bank’s engagement in the LAC region. The paper is structured around the Governance Practice’s core business lines: public financial management (PFM); revenue administration; infrastructure governance; public sector management; GovTech; subnational governance; justice and the rule of law; accountability and integrity; governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs); and governance in sectors. Each section provides an overview of the key challenges in LCR and the Bank’s engagement. -
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Macro Federalism and Local Finance
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)The book is divided into two parts. The first part macro federalism provides a fresh look at emerging constitutional challenges arising from globalization and the information revolution, as well as the dynamic-efficiency and growth implications of existing federal constitutions. Several aspects of these systems are examined: (a) institutional design to achieve internal economic union; (b) policies for regional development; (c) conduct of monetary policy; (d) coordination of fiscal policies, with a special emphasis on tax harmonization; and (e) management of risks of insolvency from sub-national borrowing. The second part of the book local finance provides a comparative perspective on local finances and measures the progress of decentralized governance reforms in developing countries. -
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Budgeting and Budgetary Institutions
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2007)Budgetary institutions have historically played a critical role in a gradual movement toward responsive, responsible, and accountable public governance in industrial countries. This paper includes the following headings: overview; a primer on budgeting and budgetary institutions; the budget and its coverage; capital budgets -- theory and practice; budget methods and practices; a primer on performance budgeting; accrual accounting in the public sector -- lessons for developing countries; activity-based cost management in the public sector; budget preparation and approval; budget execution; automating public financial management in developing countries; what would an ideal public finance management system look like; strengthening public expenditure management Africa -- criteria, priorities, and sequencing; budgeting in post-conflict countries; country case study -- Kenya; and country case study -- South Africa. -
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Local Budgeting
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007)This publication, Local Budgeting, provides a comprehensive guide for local administrators who are involved in designing and implementing budgetary institutions and who wish to improve efficiency and equity in service delivery and to strengthen internal and external accountability. It details principles and practices to improve fiscal management. It reviews techniques available in developing countries for forecasting revenues and expenditures, and it examines institutional arrangements for ensuring transparency and fiscal discipline. In addition, it outlines some strategies to deal with corruption in local revenue administration. With respect to budgeting, the volume discusses the decisions that need to be made in determining budget format and layout, including the scope of the budget, the degree of transparency of the legal requirements underlying the budget, and the extent to which the budget will emphasize inputs, outputs, and outcomes. Local Budgeting also discusses the role of the capital budget. It details how performance budgeting can serve as a tool for results-based accountability to citizens. It helps the non-specialist reader learn how to interpret budget documents to discover what the government is doing and how well it is performing its tasks. It highlights approaches to stakeholder inputs in the budget process. Finally, it explores the role of budget execution in ensuring management flexibility while enhancing democratic accountability. -
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Participatory Budgeting
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2007)This book provides an overview of the principles underlying participatory budgeting. It analyzes the merits and demerits of participatory budgeting practices around the world with a view to guiding policy makers and practitioners on improving such practices in the interest of inclusive governance. This publication includes five regional surveys, and seven country case studies can be found on the accompanying CD ROM. The study explains that participatory budgeting has been advanced by budget practitioners and academics as an important tool for inclusive and accountable governance and has been implemented in various forms in many developing countries around the globe. It adds that through participatory budgeting, citizens have the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of government operations, influence government policies, and hold government to account. However, participatory processes also run the risk of capture by interest groups. Captured processes may continue to promote elitism in government decision making. This book examines the potential and perils of participatory budgeting, as observed from practices around the globe. It is divided into three parts. Part I presents the nuts and bolts of participatory budgeting. Part II surveys experiences with participatory budgeting in various regions of the world. Part III (Vol. 2) is on the CD ROM accompanying this book, and it examines case studies of practices in seven countries. -
Publication
Participatory Budgeting : Contents of CD Rom
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007)This book provides an overview of the principles underlying participatory budgeting. It analyzes the merits and demerits of participatory budgeting practices around the world with a view to guiding policy makers and practitioners on improving such practices in the interest of inclusive governance. This publication includes five regional surveys, and seven country case studies can be found on the accompanying CD ROM. The study explains that participatory budgeting has been advanced by budget practitioners and academics as an important tool for inclusive and accountable governance and has been implemented in various forms in many developing countries around the globe. It adds that through participatory budgeting, citizens have the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of government operations, influence government policies, and hold government to account. However, participatory processes also run the risk of capture by interest groups. Captured processes may continue to promote elitism in government decision making. This book examines the potential and perils of participatory budgeting, as observed from practices around the globe. It is divided into three parts. Part I presents the nuts and bolts of participatory budgeting. Part II surveys experiences with participatory budgeting in various regions of the world. Part III (Vol. 2) is on the CD ROM accompanying this book, and it examines case studies of practices in seven countries. -
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Local Public Financial Management
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007)This volume provides an overview of local government financial accounting and reporting and where better practices in cash management are documented. The use of transparent procurement processes to mitigate corruption is also elaborated on while practical guidance is imparted on how and when to use debt, how to assess debt affordability, what debt to use, how to issue debt, and how to manage debt. The use of internal controls and audits to ensure efficiency and integrity is highlighted in this volume with particular emphasis on the role of external audit in combating corruption. Audit methods to detect corruption are also presented and discussed. The volume represents a collaborative effort of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the World Bank Institute to support reform of the public expenditure management and financial accountability systems in developing countries, especially in Africa. -
Publication
Performance Accountability and Combating Corruption
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2007)his volume provides advice on how to institutionalize performance-based accountability, especially in countries that lack good accountability systems. The volume describes how institutions of accountability may be strengthened to combat corruption. The volume is organized into two parts. The first part deals with public management reforms to ensure the integrity and improve the efficiency of government operations. It outlines an agenda for public management reforms and discusses the roles of e-government and network solutions in performance improvements. The second part of the volume provides advice on strengthening the role of representative institutions, such as organs and committees of parliament, in providing oversight of government programs. It also provides guidance on how auditing and related institutions can be used to detect fraud and corruption. The book highlights the causes of corruption and the use of both internal and external accountability institutions and mechanisms to fight it. It provides advice on how to tailor anticorruption programs to individual country circumstances and how to sequence reform efforts to ensure sustainability. This volume presents the latest thinking of leading development scholars on operationalizing such a governance framework. The focus of this volume is creating performance-based accountability and oversight when there is no bottom line. Each chapter addresses an important dimension of such a framework. The four chapters in part I are concerned with integrity and efficiency in public management. The nine chapters of part II are concerned with institutions and mechanisms to hold government to account. -
Publication
Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers : Principles and Practice
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2007)The design of intergovernmental fiscal transfers has a strong bearing on efficiency and equity of public service provision and accountable local governance. This book provides a comprehensive one-stop window/source of materials to guide practitioners and scholars on design and worldwide practices in intergovernmental fiscal transfers and their implications for efficiency, and equity in public services provision as well as accountable governance.