Minding the Gaps: Integrating Poverty Reduction Strategies and Budgets for Domestic Accountability

by | Apr 19, 2007

This study offers practical insights for donors and national governments on how to strengthen the links between poverty reduction strategies (PRSs) and national budgets, with a view to improving domestic accountability. It aims to answer the following questions: What challenges have arisen in countries where efforts have been made to integrate the PRS with the budget? What lessons have been generated by these experiences and what are the potential entry points for reforms to strengthen PRS-budget links? To answer these questions, the study reviews a series of case studies that document the status of budget and PRS integration in nine low-income countries — Albania, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda — and the links between policies, budgets, and service delivery in four higher-income countries that are internationally considered to be successful reformers in public financial management — Australia, Chile, Republic of Korea, and South Africa.

Gender Budgets Make More Cents: Country Studies and Good Practice

by | Jul 22, 2011

Overview of a gender audit – understood as a way to “locate women” in the national budget as well as in the economy. The author highlights the importance of a gender audit to ensure that men and women benefit equally from budget allocations, to raise women’s awareness of economic issues in order to stimulate their involvement in the budget-making process, and to promote a more efficient use of the resources committed to areas relevant to women. The paper draws primarily from the Israeli context but also presents brief examples from Australia, Canada, England, France, and South Africa.