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Government’s e-procurement system has not caught on as rapidly as has e-Bay! This article examines the slow implementation rate of public e-procurement systems. It challenges the notion that efficiency gains alone can entice governments to leave traditional procurement systems and principles behind. Four traditional procurement principles are reexamined to see whether they are deterrents to e-commerce: (1) low bid wins and that’s a must; (2) separation between the vendor and user is desirable to avoid claims of favoritism; (3) fixed price and fixed term contracts are best for government; and (4) open access is absolutely imperative in all situations. The jury is still out as to whether the new commerce is contingent upon a reformulation of these principles.

Historically, citizen input into the capital budgeting planning and project selection process has been sporadic and often limited to the most politically-attentive, “connected” individuals and groups. The near-sightedness of such an approach has become apparent as the public’s cynicism toward government has intensified, along with its reticence to support bond referenda, and its propensity to file equity-oriented lawsuits criticizing capital project decisions. To combat these problems, local governments across the U.S. are broadening constituent involvement in their capital budget process, especially at the front-end where possible projects are identified and selected for inclusion in the capital improvement plan. This article examines the four major approaches that are being utilized: decentralizing public hearings; using community-wide public opinion surveys to gauge public support for various projects and revenue-raising options; expanding citizen access and input to, and feedback from, government interactive data bases; and creating more formalized roles for citizens on capital budget planning committees. Each of these approaches has its own assets and liabilities which are delineated.

State budgeting processes and decision making have been the subject of numerous research efforts. Such studies have been based upon the premise that improved budget processes will improve budget decisions and resource allocations. Among the specific topics of such studies have been the nature and focus of state budgetary processes and innovations as well as inquiries into the training and background of state budgeting personnel. This study focused on the perceived contributions of budget theory, processes and concepts by state budget practitioners. The inquiry also analyzed the differences between state budget directors and their staffs regarding such "perceived" contributions. The results indicate a high degree on similarity of perceived values of the various budget theories, processes and concepts by both groups. Budget process and evaluation concepts were identified as valued concepts which enhanced their budget preparation and execution skills. Both groups indicated a high value for revenue and expenditure forecasting. Such high values probably result, in part, from the fiscal stress encountered by state governments over the past decade. Overall, the study further clarifies which budgeting concepts and processes are most highly valued by state budget practitioners. In addition, the results provide insights for the design of budgeting and financial management courses in public administration and professional development programs.

This article presents a study of revenue forecasting in a Florida municipal government. Seven techniques, including the budget officers' judgmental approach, time series models, a deterministic model, and an optimized model, are employed with franchise and utility receipts in the Town of Davie. The authors found that simple time series models outperformed deterministic models and the judgmentally derived forecasts of local officials. Consistent with prior research, findings here suggest that the time series models are not only accurate, but also easy to implement and readily comprehensible by local officials.

This paper updates and expands Norton's 1979 study of the political economy of city life cycles in thirty jurisdictions. Using 1970 and 1976 fiscal data, Norton had found that older cities of the Northeast and North Central states provide a more extensive range of services and have a stronger commitment to social welfare functions than younger cities of the South and Southwest. A thirty-five city survey using 1991 data generally confirms his findings. We found significant differences in the service mix, spending patterns and revenue sources of older and younger cities. Older cities offer a broader mix of services with the most dramatic differences among redistributive and safety functions, and notable differences in the public works and administrative services categories. Older cities expend more per capita on local services and exhibit different spending priorities. They spend propor-tionately more on redistributive services, eg. health, hospitals, welfare and housing. They also spend more per capita on police, fire and education. On the revenue side, older cities depend more on commercial property taxes, while newer cities rely more on residential property taxes. The most significant difference on the revenue side, however, concerns the greater reliance of younger cities on locally generated non-tax sources (eg. user fees), whereas older cities remain more dependent on intergovernmental aid.

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of publications in the Journal of Public Procurement (JoPP) from 2001 to 2021. The study provides insights into trends in publications, prominent publication themes, influential authors, institutions and countries that have prominently been associated with the journal’s journey.

The study used a bibliometric and content analysis approach using the VOSviewer software to develop insights into the trends, structures and patterns in publications in the journal. Data for the study was extracted from the Scopus and Google Scholar databases.

The study established that there has been consistent growth in the number of papers published by the journal within the last two decades. Yearly average publication by the journal stood at 14 papers between 2002 and 2009, with the annual average rising to approximately 18 papers between 2010 and 2021. The trend in publication has been established and identified the influential citations and contributors to the journal. The study has also clustered out the thematic structures in journal’s publications. The prominent and emerging research issues in the public procurement environment needing immediate research attention have been highlighted.

The study is a one-journal bibliometric analysis and subsequently ignores publications on public procurement from other journals.

The findings of this study highlight to the research community the contributions of JoPP to the public procurement discourse and present important avenues for future research agenda.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first bibliometric study for the JoPP, providing detailed bibliometric indexes of the 21-year period of the journal’s publications. The study comprehensively analyses the contributions in the JoPP to assess the trend and scope in publications in the field of public procurement and draws attention to emerging concerns and critical issues of neglect requiring research attention in the journal.

P-card (i.e., procurement card) programs have been praised as innovative means for procurement systems to save fiscal resources for municipal government while granting greater purchasing discretion for departmental endusers. Using Hillsborough County (Tampa), Florida as a case study, the authors identify four critical factors that influence the successful implementation of municipal P-card systems. In the final analysis, the authors suggest that the distinction between organizational success and failure for these programs is likely to be a factor of organizational commitment more than technical capacity.

THE popular image of Ireland is of a land where one can enjoy the perfect holiday. If you are a golfer, fisherman, rambler or if you just enjoy good food and of course the black nectar for which it is famous, then Ireland is the place to go, take the word of TV Chef, Keith Floyd. Ireland however, unlike many small countries, is not content to base its economy on tourism.