Transcript Day 2 - AM - Andy Norton - Politics and Accountability in

Politics, rights and
accountability in the budget
process
Andy Norton, Diane Elson
Source: What’s Behind the
Budget?
Guide to the budget literature for nonspecialists
Approaches to analysing politics and
rights in the budget process
Review of pro-poor & gender budget
initiatives in developing countries
1. Key Issues in Understanding
the Budget Process
Have to understand accompanying processes
of policy and planning
Essentially a political process – purely
technocratic approach inadequate
Holistic understanding of PEM includes macro
and revenue issues, and issues of
efficiency/effectiveness
Should not assume that allocations translate
accurately into spending…
2. Political Dimensions of
Budget Processes
Means examining the ways in which the
distribution of power within the budget
process affects the distribution of public
resources
unequal power relations may be
expressed by:
Inclusion/exclusion/proximity of different
social groups to the formal decision-making
process
Norms and values embedded in priorities and
assumptions contained in the process,
structure and content of the budget
Dominant norms and assumptions about
‘expertise’ and knowledge (mystification)
Key areas for understanding:
Formal structure of roles and responsibilities
Formal rules governing decision-making,
political choice & accountability
Networks of stakeholder power and influence
which influence budget outcomes
Incentives for action (covert/overt) affecting
decision making during formulation and
execution
Latitude for bureaucratic discretion at all
levels of the budget execution process
Dominant norms and values in key
Challenges…
Budget offices tend to be closed, defensive,
even secretive – reluctant to reveal their
strategies for fighting off claims
Honest account of incentives might touch on
illegal/publicly unacceptable practices
Hard to analyse and describe the operation of
power through ‘informal’ processes
Some sources of obfuscation
in budget processes
Information exists but not released
Nobody knows what is actually disbursed or
spent (or deliberately mis-recorded…)
Structure of the budget makes it impossible
to tell who benefits
Budget is changed so often during the year
that original intentions no longer matter
Key expenditure is off-budget
An operational method –
politics of budget execution
1. Compare allocations with expenditures over
an extended period (e.G. 10 years)
2. Are there any areas of the budget critical
for poverty reduction which consistently
lose out in budget execution?
3. If so, analyse why and what can be done
about it – formulate strategy
4. Monitor the trend… has it changed?
When we tried this in Jamaica
(through MoF…)
Found one part of the budget which
was consistently under-spent (social
and community capital expenditures)
Concluded that this was a result of
budget practices and procedures rather
than overt political manouevering
This was a significant problem for both
social impact and governance
Why….?
‘…a strongly held belief in the budget division
that the costs of postponing Economic
Services expenditures were greater than
those of postponing Social expenditures..”
Social ministries don’t prepare their case well
enough, and don’t contest resources
effectively throughout the cycle
Projects tend to be small, localised and
benefit those without political clout….
Recommendations…
Officials in S&CS ministries need to improve
quality of project preparation
Engage with the budget division throughout
the budget cycle
Make officials in the BD more aware of the
real costs of postponing or cancelling social
and community expenditures through
‘comprehensive and convincing’ argument
Other approaches to pro-poor
change …
Strengthening demand/capacity of service
users, and local level officials, to ‘draw down’
resources from the centre through:
 Transparency, information dissemination
 Public expenditure tracking
 Enhancing the clarity of rights and
entitlements
 Capacity building for civil society/local action
Rights, Entitlements and Policy
Arguments for:
Empowering for the poor and marginalised
Human Rights framework – international
normative and legal framework stressing
inclusion, participation, obligation
Political development – moving from
patronage to citizenship and rights (basis for
collective action)
Formal Entitlements
Entitlement = claim or right defined by
reference to a custom or established
procedure. Provide concrete, specific content
to rights.
Benefits: More transparent, equitable, secure
- less likely to be stigmatising, promote
collective action on the basis of citizenship
Potential difficulties: mechanisms of redress
may not be accessible for all; if unaffordable,
rationing may occur; restrict flexibility of
policy response
Helpful Conditions for ProPoor Impact
Entitlements provided on a citizenship basis,
non-discriminatory in intent
Legal or administrative systems of redress are
sufficiently effective/accessible for equitable
impact
Can be realistically provided on sustainable
basis
Established through relatively accountable,
democratic process
3. Pro-Poor/Gender-Sensitive
Budget Initiatives
Research-based advocacy initiatives aimed at
influencing policy to better fulfill rights
Government-led gender analysis initiatives
Government-led consultation exercises (e.g.
PPAs)
Transparency and information initiatives
Participatory budgeting initiatives
Developing a rights-based approach to public
provision (including direct assistance to the
disadvantaged to effectively make claims)
Broad Lessons from the
Experience…
Importance of networks and partnerships
(parliamentarians, civil society, political
parties, technocrats, social movements)
Many successful initiatives have benefited
from donor support – capacity building or
provision of resources (e.g. HIPC)
Successful initiatives are often facets of a
broader political movement or project
Strong pro-poor policy or constitutional
frameworks increase space for engagement
4. Conclusions
PEM literature focuses largely on
technical/procedural adjustments to policy
and budget systems. As well as technical
approaches we need:
Better understanding of the political
dimensions of the BP
More emphasis on spaces for pro-poor
engagement and the capacity of poor people
to make claims
7 Key Factors….
Constitutional framework and political culture
oriented to citizenship & rights
System of issues-based political competition
Sufficient fiscal resources for wide-scale
delivery of some basic services
Clear, inclusive, framework of policy goals
Transparent system of allocation/execution
Active, engaged civil society
Active, informed citizens able to draw down
services/hold officials to account.