Balancing Control and Flexibility in Public Budgeting

Michael Di Francesco is an Associate Professor and Case Program Director at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, and the School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia. He has held academic appointments at the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne, and Victoria University of Wellington, and expert advisory roles at the NSW Treasury, International Monetary Fund and World Bank. John Alford is Professor at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government and the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne, Australia. He is an international authority in the areas of public value and client-organization relationships. His most recent Palgrave publication is (with Janine O’Flynn) Rethinking Public Service Delivery (2012), winner of the 2013 Academy of Management (Public/Non-Profit Division) Best Book Award.

1. Introduction.- 2. Non-routine problems and flexibility.- 3. Flexibility, inflexibility and budgeting.- 4. Budget rules and budget flexibility.- 5. Budget reform and rule modification.- 6. Calibrating budget flexibility and control: A new role for rule variability.- 7. Conclusion.