The Budget Process in Caspian Countries: The Experience of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a study on budget transparency in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan carried out in 2004 by the Public Policy Research Center in cooperation with the Public Finance Monitoring Center (Baku, Azerbaijan). Special attention was focused on how the Parliament participates in the budget decision-making process, on its interaction with the government, and with respect to public awareness. The methodology is based on approaches developed by the International Budget Project of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington, DC) in evaluating budget processes using the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Code of Good Practices in Fiscal Transparency and the document of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD Best Practices for Budget Transparency. Our involvement in the study "Opening Budgets to Public Understanding and Debate," which was carried out by the International Budget Project in thirty-six countries, helped in assessing budget practice in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Practical recommendations were developed based on the study outcomes. The recommendations reflect key financial (economic) indicators in the preparation of budget documentation, strengthening the Parliament's role in the budget process, improving the budget process in Kazakhstan and bringing it closer to international standards set by the IMF and OECD.