Allen, RichardGrigoli, Francesco2012-08-132012-08-132012-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/10061A well-organized and effective finance ministry and its associated central finance agencies (CFAs) are essential to good fiscal outcomes. Recent studies of CFAs in selected low-income countries demonstrate that their organizational structure varies widely and that decision making on public finance is strongly influenced by political economy factors. This note presents some common themes arising from the case studies and provides some descriptive evidence about the organizational structure of the CFAs. This note also includes evidence of a 'U-curve' pattern in the development of the organizational structure of CFAs over the long term. It confirms that political economy analysis, though difficult to apply in practice, is highly relevant in the development of reform strategies for strengthening CFAs and public financial management systems.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTINGADVANCED ECONOMIESALLOCATIONANNUAL BUDGETBUDGET ALLOCATIONSBUDGET FORMULATIONBUDGET LAWBUDGET PREPARATIONBUDGET PROCESSBUDGET REFORMSBUDGETINGCAPITAL MARKETSCASH MANAGEMENTCENTRAL BANKCENTRAL CONTROLSCIVIL SERVICECIVIL SERVICE PAYDATA ANALYSISDEBTDEBT MANAGEMENTDECENTRALIZATIONDECISION-MAKINGDECISION-MAKING PROCESSESDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSDONOR SUPPORTECONOMIC POLICYEXPENDITUREEXTERNAL AUDITEXTRABUDGETARY FUNDSFINANCE MINISTERSFINANCE MINISTRIESFINANCE MINISTRYFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITYFINANCIAL ACTIVITIESFINANCIAL ASSETSFINANCIAL CONDITIONSFINANCIAL CONTROLFINANCIAL MANAGEMENTFINANCIAL POLICYFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SECTOR REGULATIONSFINANCIAL STABILITYFINANCIAL SYSTEMSFISCAL AFFAIRSFISCAL CONTROLFISCAL DECENTRALIZATIONFISCAL INSTITUTIONSFISCAL OUTCOMESFISCAL PERFORMANCEFISCAL POLICYFISCAL RISKGENDERGOVERNMENT BANKGOVERNMENT FINANCEGOVERNMENT STRUCTURESHOLDINGHUMAN RESOURCEHUMAN RESOURCESINCOMEINCOME GROUPINCOME GROUPSINCOME LEVELSINFORMATION SHARINGINFORMATION SYSTEMSINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONSINTERNAL CONTROLINTERNATIONAL CAPITALINTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MARKETSINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSLEGAL SYSTEMSLENDING INSTRUMENTSLIMITED ACCESSLOCAL CAPACITYLOCAL GOVERNMENTMINISTRIES OF FINANCEMINISTRY OF ECONOMYMINISTRY OF FINANCEMONETARY FUNDNATIONAL AUTHORITIESORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTUREPENSIONPENSION SCHEMEPERFORMANCE MANAGEMENTPOLITICAL AUTHORITYPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLITICAL INSTITUTIONSPOLITICIANSPORTFOLIOSPOVERTY REDUCTIONPRODUCTIVITYPROGRAMSPUBLICPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC FINANCEPUBLIC FINANCESPUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTPUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSPUBLIC INVESTMENTPUBLIC INVESTMENTSPUBLIC PROCUREMENTPUBLIC RESOURCESPUBLIC SECTORREFORM PROCESSREFORM PROGRAMREFORM PROGRAMSREFORM STRATEGIESREFORM STRATEGYRENTSREVENUE COLLECTIONSTRUCTURAL REFORMTAXTAX COLLECTIONTAX POLICYTAX REVENUESTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETOP MANAGEMENTTRANSPARENCYTREASURYUNIONWorld Bank10.1596/10061