This Book is based on a simple concept: no one is in a better position to hold a government accountable than those it governs.

Starting with the evidence of weak links between public spending and human development outcomes, this discussion paper takes an extensive look at the theoretical and empirical literature relating public resources allocation and measures of governance, transparency, and accountability. 

Strong Independent Monitoring Organizations (IMOs)—policy research and research advocacy organizations that pursue transparency and accountability issues--can be key players in improving the collection and expenditure of government revenues.

In India, a country that ranks low on the Transparency International Index and is known for high levels of corruption, there has been a recent surge of activity from Civil Society Organizations leading to a new consciousness among citizens about their role in a democracy.  This paper analyzes this development in civil society, the impact it has had, what can be learned from this experience, the shortcomings to such work and the challenges facing Indian groups as they look forward to the next ten years.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) can play an important role in enhancing transparency and good governance in developing countries by contributing to increased public debate on issues surrounding the formulation and implementation of government budgets as well as in supporting greater transparency of public revenues.

The objective of this paper is to review about 20 Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS) and related literature produced since the mid-1990s to identify common problems and lessons learned to improve the quality of public spending in the social sectors via civil society oversight and involvement.

This TAP Working Paper highlights lessons learned and places for civil society action based on World Bank Public Expenditure Reviews from the past eight years.

This book seeks out, based on a sample of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, areas in which governments could focus to improve the quality public expenditures.  It seeks to identify cross-cutting strengths and weaknesses of public financial management and procurement systems and the characteristics of, and lessons that can be learned from reform programs.

Strong and effective financial management accommodates organizational and political legitimacy, facilitates stability, and allows resources to reach plans to get things done, while weak financial management has the opposite effect.  This paper aims to identify themes emerging from practice within, and recent efforts to improve, public financial management (PFM) systems in Africa. Given the themes identified, it also seeks to suggest a perspective on the role non-governmental civil society organizations (CSO) could play in strengthening PFM in the future.

Among the most important functions of governments are the management and control of public resources, and planning for the future allocation of those resources, but at the same time controlling the quality of public spending.  This working paper is based on a review of a sample of Country Procurement Assessment Reports undertaken in twenty-three Sub-Saharan countries.  The paper analyzes the procurement systems and seeks to find ways to improve the quality of public expenditures.