Teacher absenteeism affects the quality of education by reducing instructional time. Moreover, as teachers represent the single largest item in the education budget of all countries, their absence from the classroom represents a direct loss of...

The introduction of `new' aid modalities - and in particular general budget support - has increased the interest in the relationship between corruption and aid modalities. This U4 Issue reviews the information that theory and empirical studies...

The secondary schools bursary scheme was introduced by the Government in the 1993/1994 financial year to enhance access, ensure retention, and reduce disparities and inequalities in the provision of secondary school education. In particular, the...

The Open Budget Survey 2008, a comprehensive evaluation of budget transparency in 85 countries, finds that the state of budget transparency around the world is deplorable. This encourages inappropriate, wasteful, and corrupt spending and-because it...

Over the last decade, budget work, or applied budget analysis, has become increasingly recognised as an important tool for holding governments and non-state actors accountable for their policy commitments, budget allocations and expenditure...

Budgets can be complex documents. Many people feel intimidated by budget work, assuming that it requires very technical skills. But budget work can be straightforward. Using basic arithmetic, civil society can use budget information to talk in...

How can citizens monitor government expenditure? What are the best strategies for effecting budgetary change? This guide looks at the work undertaken by 17 organizations in 12 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It offers an overview of...

Humanitarian assistance injects valuable resources into resource-poor and often insecure contexts with high levels of need. The complexity of humanitarian operations and their rapidly increasing budgets make addressing corruption and the taboos...

In the former communist countries, education could become the key element for combating corrupt behaviour and promoting integrity and ethics. Possible strategies include establishing clear and transparent systems of budgeting, auditing, examination...