Government is a major player in the development of an economy. Government's public financial operations involving mobilization of revenue, and its spending has considerable implications on the growth, distribution and stability necessitating a careful study to enable informed mid course policy corrections to the macroeconomic developments. A critical review of public expenditure is imperative in ensuring optimal use of public resources for the maximization of welfare. The book provides an empirical understanding of historical trends and composition of public expenditure at the central and the sub national levels; the effectiveness of public expenditure control systems and accountability issues; the political economy of spending decisions; public expenditure reforms undertaken in India and international best options that can guide the corrective process in India. Given the global shift in focus from 'outlays' to 'outcomes' it is important to put in place a sound framework to track the results of government expenditure programs to guide the informed expenditure decision making process. The book documents the features of useful frameworks and steps involved in adopting a robust results framework. Fiscal management of Covid-19 is an important component of the book. The purpose of this volume is to reach out a comprehensive and updated understanding of empirical issues in public expenditure and its management in India to the students of Public Finance.

This paper defines and explains key stages of the government expenditure chain and describes the controls applied at each stage, including their objectives and key features as well as centralized vs. decentralized approaches in application of those controls. The paper also examines the influence of different administrative traditions on types of expenditure controls, including the authority and responsibility of various institutional actors. Finally, it discusses typical weaknesses/problems associated with different traditions of expenditure control and suggests specific measures for strengthening the control framework. While providing examples of expenditure control practices from more than 32 countries, the paper points out that more than two-thirds of the 85 low and middle income countries covered by the publicly available Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessments have weak systems of expenditure control that are also associated with higher levels of expenditure arrears and a lack of budget credibility. This paper will help public financial management practitioners to evaluate budget execution systems and identify priorities for strengthening expenditure controls. It will also usefully guide technical assistance work related to modernization of government budget execution and expenditure control systems, including the design and implementation of IT-based financial management information systems.

Managing Public Expenditure presents a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of all aspects of public expenditure management from the preparation of the budget to the execution, control and audit stages.