Can National Legislatures Regain an Effective Voice in Budget Policy?

Abstract

Two contemporary developments are buffeting legislative work on the budget. One is the drive to discipline public finance by constraining the fiscal aggregates; the other is the effort to enlarge the legislature’s role in revenue and spending policy. Whether these trends turn out to be complementary or contradictory will shape the budgetary role of national legislatures in the years ahead. One scenario is for the legislature to reinforce fiscal discipline by taking responsibility for the budget’s totals; another is for it to undermine discipline by bombarding the budget submitted by the government with legislative amendments that trim revenues or boost expenditures...