Table of Contents

* Acknowledgments * About the Authors * A New Framework * Who Decides on Public Expenditures? The Importance of the Informal Budget Process in Argentina * Presidential Power, Fiscal Responsibility Laws, and the Allocation of Spending: The Case of Brazil * Changes in Fiscal Outcomes in Colombia: The Role of the Budget Process * Institutional Reforms, Budget Politics, and Fiscal Outcomes in Ecuador * Weakened Policymaking Process, Deteriorating Fiscal Outcomes: The Case of Paraguay * Success in Sustainability? The Case of Peru * Fiscal Rules that Fit Political Cycles: The Case of Uruguay * Oil Wealth, the Changing Political Structure, and the Budget Process: The Case of Venezuela * The Budget Process as a Political Arena

About the Author

Mark Stephen Hallerberg is Professor of Public Management and Political Economy, Hertie School of Governance. Carlos Scartascini is Senior Economist in the Research Department, Inter-American Development Bank, USA. Ernesto Stein is Regional Economic Advisor, Country Department Central America, Mexico, Panama, and Dominican Republic, Inter-American Development Bank, USA.