As Rubin has shown in past editions, public budgeting is inherently political. By presenting federal, state, and local budgeting within a comparative framework, he gives attention to issues of federalism, always sensitive to the power struggles between the different branches and levels of government.

Public budgeting is inherently political. In The Politics of Public Budgeting, author Irene S. Rubin lays out the actors involved–interest groups, public officials, legislators, and the public–and shines a light on how these groups, who each have their own goals, are able to bargain and barter their way to a resolution. The new Eighth Edition examines the budgeting process over time and sets issues like the federal deficit and health care expenditures in political and comparative context. As in previous editions, the book also draws on examples from all levels of government and emphasizes the relationships among them. By carefully analyzing each strand of the decision-making process, Rubin shows the extraordinary cooperation involved in passing a budget and achieving accountability.

Budgeting is often the setting for major contests over the balance of power between the legislative and the executive. This book looks at the way budgets can provide a vantage point from which to observe government, and a way of holding government accountable to its citizens.

Using a "power struggles" theme to examine the dynamics of budgeting, The Politics of Public Budgeting shines a bright light on the political jockeying between interest groups, parties, officials, policymakers, and the public. Bestselling author Irene S. Rubin explains budgeting changes over time by setting issues like the federal deficit and health care expenditures in political and comparative context. The Ninth Edition offers students recent examples of public budgeting from all levels of government, emphasizing the relationship among them. Analyzing each strand of the decision-making process, Rubin shows the extraordinary coordination involved in passing a budget and achieving accountability.

Some of the best writings on public budgeting and finance can be found in the journals that ASPA publishes or sponsors. For this volume editor Irene Rubin has brought together the best of these articles - emerging classics that address the most important theoretical and practical problems underlying public budgeting.The anthology is organized topically rather than historically, with an effort to delineate the issues needed to understand some of the more recent controversies in the field. Rubin's introductory essay and section openers frame the key issues and provide historical context for each article. The collection begins with descriptions of what public budgeting is, where it comes from, and what it is for. It moves on to the relationship between budget processes and outcomes, constraints on budgeting, the legal context in which it operates, and adaptations to those constraints such as contracting out.The book concludes with a discussion of the ethics and norms that underlie budgeting in a democracy. Throughout the anthology, the emphasis is on areas of disagreement and debate, so students can get involved and explore different viewpoints.

A complete and balanced reference, Public Budgeting Systems, Eighth Edition surveys the current state of budgeting throughout all levels of the United States government. The text emphasizes methods by which financial decisions are reached within a system as well as ways in which different types of information are used in budgetary decision-making. It also stresses the use of program information, since, for decades, budget reforms have sought to introduce greater program considerations into financial decisions. This updated text includes more cases studies and practical information, figures and charts to make the information more accessible, as well as additional student problems. Using this text, students will gain a first-rate understanding of methods by which financial decisions are reached within a system, and how different types of information are used in budgetary decision-making.

Using a “power struggles” theme to examine the dynamics of budgeting, Rubin’s classic text shines a bright light on the political jockeying between interest groups, parties, officials, policymakers, and the public. Expert at explaining budgeting changes over time, Rubin sets issues like the federal deficit and health care expenditures in political and comparative context. Analyzing each strand of the decision-making process, Rubin shows the extraordinary coordination involved in passing a budget and achieving accountability.