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1 – 10 of 37Jennifer Dineen, Mark D. Robbins and Bill Simonsen
Fiscal conditions and budget constraints in the United States have placed solutions to budget deficit problems at the center of the public policy debate. Preferences for deficit…
Abstract
Fiscal conditions and budget constraints in the United States have placed solutions to budget deficit problems at the center of the public policy debate. Preferences for deficit reduction strategies are likely to be heavily associated with particular ideologies and other demographic and economic variables. Therefore, since this study is a true randomized experiment, it provides strong evidence about the influence of question wording on deficit reduction preferences, and therefore the likelihood it is susceptible to manipulation. We find clear evidence that using the word ‘tax’ significantly and substantially influences respondents’ choices. This result is robust over two experimental trials about a year apart and whether or not control variables are included.
Mark D. Robbins, Bill Simonsen and Emily Shepard
This article reports on a design for citizen identified performance measures for budgeting that seeks to overcome problems of validity and representativeness that typically exist…
Abstract
This article reports on a design for citizen identified performance measures for budgeting that seeks to overcome problems of validity and representativeness that typically exist in citizen involvement processes. This design selected participants using random sampling so that each resident had the same chance of being invited to be in one of the focus groups that worked to develop outcome measures for a set of town services. In order to assure that the resulting measures were helpful to residents at large, an additional phase of the process involved a large sample survey of town residents to validate the results. The results were a set of performance measures that were developed by a small group of citizens that the population at large found useful to them when thinking about local services.
Mark D. Robbins and Bill Simonsen
In this article we explore two citizen-based approaches to solving the problem of selecting a desirable level of public goods for a jurisdiction. The first approach seeks to…
Abstract
In this article we explore two citizen-based approaches to solving the problem of selecting a desirable level of public goods for a jurisdiction. The first approach seeks to inform decision-makers about citizens’ preferences by observing the choices of citizens faced with the actual budget constraint facing the government and asking them to choose service levels within that constraint. The second approach gauges citizens’ willingness-to-pay for their share of the cost of a desired level of public expenditure. In an effort to foster discussion and research into new modes of citizen participation in resource allocation we pose a model that combines both the constraints of the jurisdiction with the tax share of the respondent into a survey methodology that will reveal the underlying demand for government services in ways that are useful for public managers.
The Chief Financial Officers Act and subsequent legislation require federal agencies to produce corporate-style financial statements. Arguments for financial statements drew on…
Abstract
The Chief Financial Officers Act and subsequent legislation require federal agencies to produce corporate-style financial statements. Arguments for financial statements drew on private sector analogies and suggested policy makers and managers would use the information to make better public policy and management decisions and improve accountability for financial management and program performance. Nearly all major government agencies have unqualified audit opinions and improvements in financial management are claimed. But benefits for policy making and management are not yet well understood. This paper examines the question by comparison with the private sector and by examining what agencies say about the uses and users of financial statement information. The emerging challenge in the evolution of federal financial reporting is to develop better government-specific analytical tools and other financial information for policy makers and managers.
John F. Sacco and Gerard R. Busheé
This paper analyzes the impact of economic downturns on the revenue and expense sides of city financing for the period 2003 to 2009 using a convenience sample of the audited end…
Abstract
This paper analyzes the impact of economic downturns on the revenue and expense sides of city financing for the period 2003 to 2009 using a convenience sample of the audited end of year financial reports for thirty midsized US cities. The analysis focuses on whether and how quickly and how extensively revenue and spending directions from past years are altered by recessions. A seven year series of Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) data serves to explore whether citiesʼ revenues and spending, especially the traditional property tax and core functions such as public safety and infrastructure withstood the brief 2001 and the persistent 2007 recessions? The findings point to consumption (spending) over stability (revenue minus expense) for the recession of 2007, particularly in 2008 and 2009.
James E Grunig and Miia Jaatinen
Public relations professionals frequently maintain that public relations is different in governmental organisations than in corporations, associations and not‐for‐profit…
Abstract
Public relations professionals frequently maintain that public relations is different in governmental organisations than in corporations, associations and not‐for‐profit organisations. Textbooks commonly include separate chapters on government public relations; and some universities in the USA teach separate courses on government communication programmes. Most public relations theorists, however, have not constructed separate theories of public relations for government. In this paper, the authors theorise that the principles of public relations for government are the same as for other types of organisation, but that the specific conditions to which the principles must be applied are different. Research has shown, however, that governmental organisations are more likely than other organisations to practice a public information model of public relations and less likely to engage in two‐way communication. The authors suggest theoretically that governmental organisations, especially in the USA, are more likely to practice one‐way, information‐based communication programmes because of a pluralistic view of government. In countries where government is based more on a societal corporatist view, organisations are more likely to practice strategic, two‐way communication. This paper analyses the information policies of Canada and Norway as examples. It concludes with the proposition that strategic, symmetrical public relations requires an agency to view its relationship with publics from a societal corporatist perspective rather than from a pluralistic perspective.
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Citizen participation in budgeting is often achieved by compliance with legal statutes on public hearing requirements. These pragmatic and legalistically-based approaches to…
Abstract
Citizen participation in budgeting is often achieved by compliance with legal statutes on public hearing requirements. These pragmatic and legalistically-based approaches to citizen participation are examined, and the potential for creating participation that realizes more than meeting legal requirements is discussed. The author suggests that recommendations from recent work on citizen participation and governance can be used as standards for evaluating and improving citizen participation in budgeting, and applies these suggestions to a case example in city government finance.
Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf and Arwiphawee (Sai) Srithongrung
This article highlights key aspects of capital management, including capital planning, capital budgeting, capital financing, decision making and capital spending outcomes. We…
Abstract
This article highlights key aspects of capital management, including capital planning, capital budgeting, capital financing, decision making and capital spending outcomes. We provide a background discussion of public sector capital management, followed by a summary of the articles that comprise this symposium. Combined, these articles illustrate the complexity of and challenges to capital management at the state and local government levels. We discuss common themes that emerge from reading these articles as a collective symposium, including: (1) modest progress in applying and empirically testing theoretical frameworks; (2) the variety of actors and institutions; and (3) the deteriorating condition and poor performance of public infrastructure. We use the articles to illustrate gaps in the research and offer suggestions for future research on capital management theory and practice.