During his September 2002 visit to OECD Headquarters in Paris, Mr. Guilherme DIAS, the Minister of Planning, Budget and Management, requested the OECD to carry out a review of the Brazilian budgeting system in a similar fashion as it does for its member countries. The OECD responded positively...

The budget formulation process in the Netherlands operates in two very distinct phases. The first phase occurs when a new government takes power and it establishes its overall budgetary policy for its term of office. This is done in explicit terms, rather than being a general statement of...

The budget is the most fundamental and important document of governments. It is the key economic document in that it allocates a significant share of a nation’s gross domestic product, over half in some OECD member countries. It is the key program policy document in that governments establish...

The public finance system of Singapore consists of four “pillars”: the budget sector itself; the Central Provident Fund; the government investment agencies; and various special funds not consolidated into the budget. The budget process is characterised by close interministerial co-operation...

In June 2003, the Budget Office of the Ministry of Finance of Chile requested the OECD to carry out a review of the Chilean budgeting system in a similar fashion as it does for its member countries. The OECD responded positively to this request, recognising that Chile is an established observer...

There would appear to be a growing consensus among OECD member countries concerning the merits of adopting accrual accounting in the public sector. Nearly one-third of member countries have adopted full accrual accounting and a number of other member countries have adopted accrual accounting for...

The budgetary process in the United States federal government is different from that in other OECD member countries. This is a consequence of the strict separation of powers that characterises the American constitutional system and of a long historical development in which new layers of...

From the early 1990s, the fiscal position of OECD member countries improved steadily each year, from a deficit of 5% of GDP for member countries as whole in 1993 to a perfect balance in the year 2000, i.e. neither a deficit nor a surplus. In 2001, member countries experienced a deficit of 1% of...

This review of budgeting in Australia concentrates on the national government only. The article first discusses Australia’s recent economic and fiscal performance and then focuses on the budget formulation process. After a discussion of the role of the Parliament, the article reviews various...

Canada’s level of indebtedness, as a percentage of GDP, increased from a level lower than the average for OECD Member countries in the early 1980s to a high of 97.6% in 1995. This was a level of debt exceeded only by Italy among G7 nations and Belgium and Greece among the wider OECD community....