Compare and Contract the Budget Processes and Systems of Fiscal Accountability in Presidential and Parliamentary Systems of Government.

Comparative Public Administration

PROJECT

Compare and contract the budget processes and systems of fiscal accountability in Presidential and Parliamentary systems of Government.

Student: Lyn Marie James

Abstract

There is diversity of forms of government (Laundy, 1989) and different ways of classifying them and as such, this paper sets out to discuss the budgetary powers of the legislature under different forms of government, and the environment that informed the political structures. The paper discusses the different forms of government systems that exist in various countries with specific focus on the Presidential system as obtained in countries such as the United States of America and the Parliamentary “Westminster” form that exists in countries such as the United Kingdom.
The different forms of budgets are discussed including their advantages and disadvantages, with particular reference to the degree of the legislature’s political control over the executive in the budget process. Specific areas of budgetary control by the legislature are identified - mainly those exercised prior to the adoption of the annual budget and various factors that determine the power of the legislature to shape the annual budget.
The budget cycle and its various stages are identified in the context of the role of political institutions on fiscal outcomes of the budgetary process. Key challenges to public budgeting systems in presidential and parliamentary systems are examined to discover factors such as how to retain the advantages of strong executive authority required to ensure fiscal discipline and sound public finance management while providing the institutional checks and balances that guarantee accountability, ensure restraint and prevent corruption (Santiso, 2005).
The paper concludes with a discussion on the way forward with respect to strengthening the independence and performance of oversight institutions, civil society oversight and fiscal

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