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Rutgers University Campus at Camden Graduate Department of Public Policy and Administration INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC SECTOR BUDGETING AND FINANCE834:515:02 [International Track Students] This course is a survey in public budgeting. Nearly every subject we touch upon could be a full term study on its own. The course serves two functions as part of the core curriculum of the M.P.A. program: 1) It is intended to present an overview of the processes and problems associated with public budgeting and policy; and 2) It -- along with Financial Management of Public Sector Programs -- is a major avenue through which you will be exposed to spreadsheet techniques for financial and managerial analysis. Although the principles of public sector budgeting as a professional
are generalizable to nearly any level of government there are specific
issues having to do with state and local situations that condition the
application of these principles. This section of budgeting will use a standard
text in the field combined with cases and addition readings from comparative
or international situations. The course is organized around certain concepts
basic to public sector financial management: the creation of a surrogate
pricing system; revenue extraction and reliability; the budget as program
and process; intergovernmental fiscal relations; financial and managerial
controls in the public sector; and, capital planning and public borrowing.
Overall, and especially when dealing with LDCs, the question becomes the
organizational capacity to budget. Required [or recommended] texts include: John L. Mikesell, Fiscal Administration: Analysis and Applications
for the Public Sector Additional readinsg and case studies from the JFK
School, Harvard University are on reserve at the Robeson Library.
Course Requirements Include: I: Keep up with class readings and participate in class discussions. II: Four in class case studies. Each student will be expected to read, analyze and be prepared to present an oral report on the cases. Memos (3-5 pps) are to be submitted one week after classroom discussion. III: A work problem in LOTUS 1-2-3 (or similar Spreadsheet program) to be distributed in class. IV: A "take-home" final. Grading Policy: The semester grades will be determined by your reading; active participation in class discussion on the four Harvard Cases; and as assessed by your assigned memos. In addition, there will be a a spreadsheep projects using preformated data. A take-home final of teh themes of the course will be the last portion of the grade. The relative burden each portion will contribute to final grades is as follows: Case Memos: 40% [10 each] | Spreadsheet Assignment 20% | Take Home Final 40%
1) September 2: Overview and Introduction to Basic Issues: Why do governments spend? How do they differ from private organizations? The reasons for governmental expenditure condition the management of such finances as well as the way in which people approach governmental expenditures: Public Choice theorists; The Sociology of Government Spending; Welfare Economics; the Neo-Marxist Approach. Differences among public sector and not-for-profit organizations. Readings: Mikesell, Chapter 1; Caiden, "Budgeting: Historical and
Comparative Aspects," [on reserve]. 2) September 9: Structure of Budgets Some terminology, Budget Structures; The budget cycle as policy; the budget cycle as politics; Competing Strategies in the Process; Incrementalism vs Decrementalism; vs non-Incrementalism; Introduction to Revenue sources. Readings: Mikesell, Chapter 2; Begin Case #1: Panama Water Authority Exercise. 3) September 16: Introduction to Budgeting: The Many Faces of Budgeting; A general introduction to predictors of revenues and expenditure; Budget formation from inside an agency; Goals and Objectives; Relationship between Program and Budget; Rationalization v.s. Politicization. Readings: Mikesell, Chapter 3 plus Appendix C; Additional suggested reading, A. Wildavsky, The New Politics of the Budgetary
Process; Discussion of Case #1. 4) September 23: Budgeting (Continued): Process Role of Legislatures; Fragmentation; Committee Systems / Cabinet Systems (Iron Triangles); Bureaucracies; Implementation; Interest Groups; special case of capital budgeting; budgetary-demand management link; the politics and finances of entitlement. Readings: Mikesell, Chapter 4;. 5) September 30: Some Technical Aspects of Budgeting: Theoretical assessment of different types of taxes in different contexts: Revenue sources; tax structure; tax incidence; fiscal policy; tariffs, trade fees; user fees; donor/grants. The options and limitations presented by each type of taxation: Elasticity, stability and sensitivity of revenue streams. Readings: Mikesell, Chapters 7 and 8. Discussion of Case #2. 8) October 14: Revenues Continued: Special Issues in the American Context Revenue Issues in States and Counties: The Property Tax; Consumption Taxes, User fees; Problems of Administering Income Taxes. The interaction of development policies and fiscal policies. New Sources of Revenues: User Fees and the Question of Pricing for Public Services, Privatization as a Management Issue. Readings: Mikesell, Chapters 9, 10 and 12. Caiden and Wildasky as assigned.
9) October 21: Budgeting (Continued): History of Reforms: (US Context) Reforms: a) Rationalizing the budget process: PPBS, MBO, ZBB; b) Controlling Federal Deficit/ Expenditures: Gramm / Rudman / Hollings, "Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act," Entitlement Program Controls; possibility of a Federal Capital Budget; Control on Off-Budget Items; Balanced Budget Amendment; c) State and Local Political Reforms: Property Tax Caps (California's Prop.13); other Tax / Revenue Cap; Controls on Public Authorities / Public Benefit Corporations; Preventive Budgeting; Court Interventions; GAAP Readings: Mikesell, Appendix to Chapter 4;
Instability, scarce resources, fiscal and financial dependence on external agents (IMF, World Bank, Central Banks that issue hard currencies, etc.); Services vs. Investment. Readings: Caiden and Wildavsky as assigned; Bailey "Assessment
of Financial Management Systems in the Pakistani Education Sector,"
other handouts or materials on reserve. Begin Case #3: Evaluating Reconstruction Assistance in Post-War Uganda: The World Bank and Institutional Capacity Building. 10) November 4: Development and Budgeting in LDCs Capacity Building for Budgeting in developing states, Centralization or decentralization of financial management systems; the absence of MIS / EDP facilities; capital vs operating vs human development budgeting. Readings: Complete Caiden and Wildavsky; Eduardo Zapico Goni, "Many
Reforms Little Learning: Budgeting, Auditing and Evaluation in Spain"
(on reserve) Discussion of Case #3. 11) November 11: Introduction to Public Sector Financial Controls Line item budget; expenditure driven programs; centralized v.s. decentralized financial management; Cash and Accruals; Agencies as cash or responsibility centers; cash flow; controllable expense; grants-in-aid; disallowances; fund accounting; contingency fund; sinking fund; debt service; auditing; cash controls; PS / OTPS; two views of a budget; financial planning; GAAP. Readings: Anthony and Young, "The Control Structure," from
Anthony and Young, Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations (or reserve).
12) November 18: Financial Controls (Continued): Accounting, MIS and Investment Issues Managerial accounting in the public sector; cash management; revenue enhancement; criteria for selecting investments; cost accounting; risk analysis; fund accounting; responsibility centers; under-funded capital depreciation; cost of capital; cash management; portfolio management; the public sector as investor; pension fund assets. MIS: Creation of MIS systems; identification of indicators; the politics of implementing an MIS system; the sociology of data; integrating MIS into the budgetary process. GAAP at the State level. Reporting of under funded liabilities; "Alterbudgets," "preventive services budgeting," Readings: Mikesell, Chapter 5; Begin Case #4: Paying the Bills at Junta of Andulusia November 26: Happy Thanksgiving13) December 2: Class Exercise in Spreadsheet applications
Cash Management, Pension Funds as obligations of ‘sources of cash,' tort liabilities and self-insurance, introduction to Capital Budgeting Readings: Mikesell, Chapters 6 and 15. Discussion of Case #4. Take Home
Final distributed. 15) Finals Week: Take Home Final and final case due at the time and on the day
that the Registrar's office schedules the final examiniation for this course.
Last Updated: 9/6/99 at 5:13:44 PM |