Budget Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Budget Law - Essay Example The case of South Africa and Sweden are especially noted. According to Lienert(2005) many countries have adopted comprehensive and deep reforms as well new and amended laws to transform the role of the state and the budgeting processes that are involved in the working of the state. The issues that have been highlighted include fiscal transparency and political polarization, performance oriented budgeting and financial accountability. Modifications in the legal framework that have changed the role of the state and the budget processes involved or supporting it could be highlighted yet these modifications seem to have been strongest in countries that rely on laws and decrees to introduce changes The emphasis is on performance oriented budgeting and fiscal transparency and considering that the legal framework does help in shifting emphases to the process of budgeting and methodology, the central role of the legal aspect could be well documented and examined. However there are many obstacles to the proper working of the legal framework and its implementation to enhance budgeting and these could be differences between countries in terms of political systems and administrative arrangements or even legal cultures that could prevent the budgeting process from being efficient and transparent. ... Such cycles are usually thought to be present in weak or new democracies although Alt James et al (2006) prove that such electoral cycles could be present in advanced and more industrialized economies as well. The focus on fiscal transparency along with budgeting transparency would bring about questions on the nature of the economy and the kind of legal framework such economies have. Fiscal Transparency If the legal frameworks are strong enough, fiscal transparency could be expected. Fiscal transparency has become one of the most important aspects of governance and financial reporting A definition of fiscal transparency is given by Kopits and Craig: "Fiscal transparency is defined ... as openness toward the public at large about government structure and functions, fiscal policy intentions, public sector accounts, and projections. It involves ready access to reliable, comprehensive, timely, understandable, and internationally comparable information on government activities ... so that the electorate and financial markets can accurately assess the government's financial position and the true costs and benefits of government activities, including their present and future economic and social implications" (1998, p. 1). The authors use a sample of data from 19 OECD countries in the 1990s, to identify a persistent pattern of electoral cycles both in the low transparency, and largely developing countries, although such cycles could not be observed in high transparency countries. Thus the authors suggest that electoral cycles in fiscal balance could be a feature of many advanced economies but not found in high transparency countries. This highlights the fact that not all advanced and developed economies would have very transparencies although some advanced

Global poverty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global poverty - Research Paper Example It is of interest to me because I would like to establish how the global poverty affects not just the poor countries but also the rich nations. I am interested in finding out how their relations with each other impact on the occurrence or incidence of poverty. This topic is also of interest to me because I would like to find out how different countries are responding to this issue and what interventions have already been implemented in order to resolve this issue. 1. United Nations – This organization is involved in alleviating poverty through the various programs it has set and implemented on its member countries (MacMillan, 2011). One of these programs include the Millennium Development Goals which has set forth activities on reducing poverty, improving health outcomes, increasing employment opportunities, and in promoting peace in developing countries (UN, 2010a). This organization would likely require research in relation to the achievement and the fulfillment of its MDGs (Tran, 2011). Such a research would provide feedback on the efficacy of its programs. 2. CARE is a United States-based organization whose goal is to fight global poverty by focusing on poor women providing them with access to education, preventing diseases, providing them access to clean water, expanding their economic opportunities, and protecting their natural resources (CARE, 2012). This organization would likely require research on the impact of poverty on women in developing countries. Such a research direction would seek to establish the possible solutions which can be directed towards poor women. 3. BRAC – is an organization established by former Shell Oil CEO Fazle Hasan Abed. Its goal is to empower the people and the communities who are in extreme poverty, including those who are illiterate and those who are victims of disease and