Improving the Budget Process in Fragile and Conflict-Ridden States: Two Modest Lessons from Afghanistan

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Guinn, David E.; Straussman, Jeffrey D.
• 署名单位: State University of New York (SUNY) System; University at Albany, SUNY; State University of New York (SUNY) System; University at Albany, SUNY
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3352
• DOI: 10.1111/puar.12397
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 263-U335
• 关键词: fiscal transparency; management; countries

摘要

Both the donor community and scholars have created a cottage industry studying fragile states. International nongovernmental organizations that have developed indexes measuring corruption or governance have been unkind to Afghanistan. One index suggests a different and more optimistic story. The International Budget Partnership measures transparency every two years with its Open Budget Index. Afghanistan demonstrated dramatic improvement on this index between 2008 and 2012. The authors use the improvement in Afghanistan's transparency score as an entry point to explore how donors try to intervene and promote transparency as part of broader efforts in public financial management development and how legislative strengthening has also contributed to budget reform. The analysis offers a modest corrective to the overly pessimistic assessments of fragile states by showing that a fragile state can improve its budgetary transparency and enhance governance by strengthening the legislature's involvement in the budget process.