Ideas for Development in the Americas (IDEA): Volume 20 : September-December, 2009: The Politics of the Budget Process

This issue of IDEA looks at the intensely political process that surrounds public budgeting in Latin America. It analyzes critical budget issues, recent legislation, the political actors involved and the consequences--sometimes unintended--of budget reform. It draws from Who Decides the Budget?, The State of State Reform in Latin America and other IDB research products that explore the mysteries of the budget process and recognize that a better understanding of that process provides important clues for understanding why some countries are able to develop and others are not.