The Quest for Open and Accountable Budgets: Moving Beyond Transparency

This chapter asks why fiscal transparency has become such a commonplace policy in recent decades, and whether and how it should continue to be. It presents evidence that there has been an increase in levels of fiscal transparency across many countries, important shifts in global norms and standards, and a number of positive impacts associated with fiscal transparency improvements. It also explains a gradual shift from “fiscal transparency” to “fiscal openness” and “fiscal accountability” as more encompassing concepts with different applicability. The authors argue the case for considering fiscal transparency as one of the preconditions for the functioning of a broader “accountability ecosystem” consisting of actors outside the government such as legislators, external auditors, the courts, civil society, and the media. It discusses the pros and cons of public participation in budget processes and fiscal debates. Among the promising new directions for policy and research that they identify are piloting of citizen engagement opportunities and strengthening fiscal accountability institutions.