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Transparency of law making and fiscal democracy in the Middle East

Author

Listed:
  • Lobna M. Abdellatif

    (Senior Public-Sector Specialist, Governance Global Practice, World Bank, seconded from Cairo University 1818 H street NW, Washington DC, USA)

  • Mohamed Zaky

    (Cairo University, Giza, Egypt)

  • Mohamed Ramadan

    (Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt)

Abstract

Fiscal democracy is the capacity of the legislature to make budgetary choices in response to the emerging needs of citizens. This study indicates that, in Middle Eastern countries, there are specific limitations to fiscal democracy in the process of law-making: most notably the lack of attention to financial impact assessments (FIAs). Without systematic FIAs, mandatory out-of-budget allocations are inadvertently included in public spending, as they do not require parliamentary approval within the regular budgeting process. The low level of effective citizens’ engagement in the process of law-making worsens the situation. Budgetary decisions are not well informed by national priorities and preferences. This study utilizes the dataset of the Open Budget Index (OBI) to measure the quality of the law-making process of the budget law in a sample of Middle Eastern countries. The study concludes with recommendations on mapping the law-making process to increase budget transparency.

Suggested Citation

  • Lobna M. Abdellatif & Mohamed Zaky & Mohamed Ramadan, 2019. "Transparency of law making and fiscal democracy in the Middle East," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 43(1), pages 49-77.
    • Handle: RePEc:ipf:psejou:v:43:y:2019:i:1:p:49-77
    DOI: 10.3326/pse.43.1.5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fiscal democracy; mandatory spending; Financial Impact Assessments; citizens’ engagement; law-making process; budget transparency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H61 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Budget; Budget Systems
    • H62 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Deficit; Surplus
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures

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