Breaking Budgets: An Empirical Examination of Danish Municipalities

摘要: When public budgets have been drafted and approved, a new equally important game begins. Budgets are routinely broken when they implemented, causing higher spending than politicians originally intended. Institutional, political, economic causes of budget overruns examined in an empirical analysis more 17,000 cases. While political factors only marginal effect, it turns out that tractability explains well; if users producers strong, tend to be large. In reform perspective, the effect institutional rules is especially interesting. No quick fixes problems with exist, but prohibiting supplementary appropriations for non-mandatory can reduce overruns, provided willing able credibly commit themselves not waive them later.