Improving transparency and accountability in the budget process: an assessment of recent initiative

Budget transparency has in recent decades come to be seen as a pillar of good governance. This article reviews budget-related transparency and accountability initiatives (TAIs) to analyse their impact. While there are many examples of success in terms of budget processes around the world being opened up to greater participation and scrutiny, there is no single recipe for creating a successful initiative to enhance transparency and accountability in the budget process. A consistent set of factors does however appear across those TAIs defined as successful in various ways. These include building horizontal and vertical alliances between stakeholders, the production of legitimate information, legal empowerment and international support.