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Public Expenditure Reviews: Progress and Potential

Author: V Swaroop
Date: 1999
Size: 4 pages (153KB)

Summary

Public expenditure reviews typically analyse and project tax revenue, determine the level and composition of public spending, assess intersectoral and intra-sectoral allocations, review financial and non-financial public enterprises and consider the structure of governance and the functioning of public institutions. Over the last 10 years studies of public expenditure reviews have suggested that, although their coverage has been comprehensive, the quality of analysis has been uneven.

This PREM Note, produced for The World Bank, asks how the Bank can use public expenditure reviews to assist its clients in ensuring that the best use is made of a country's resources. It looks at the role of public expenditure reviews in advancing the development agenda in client countries, examines experiences with these reviews and sets out a three-pronged approach for improving these reviews. This three-pronged approach consists of asking questions, focusing on the process of the review and adopting a framework that guides policy analysis and focuses on building institutions.

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Source: Swaroop, V., 1999, ‘Public Expenditure Reviews: Progress and Potential’, PREM Notes Number 20, April 1999, World Bank, Washington D.C.