Stability and punctuations in public spending : a comparative study of budget functions
By: BREUNIG, Christian
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Contributor(s): KOSKI, Chris | MORTENSEN, Peter B.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Cary : Oxford University, july 2010Subject(s): Despesa Pública | Orçamento Público | Prestação de contas | Análise Comparativa | Dinamarca | Estados UnidosJournal of Public Administration Research and Theory - JPART 20, 3, p. 703-722Abstract: This article provides a comprehensive analysis of stability and punctuations in public spending within and across two different countries - Denmark and the United States. The theoretical starting point is the classic model of budget incrementation and Jones and Baumgartner's model of disproportionate information processing. First, despite the clear differences in institutional setup, we show that public spending spanning many decades in Denmark and the United States are characterized by a similar distribution of small-medium, and large-scale spending changes. What is more intriguing is that we show how this aggregate result obscures (1) substantical variation between categories of public spending and (2) similar tendencies with similar spending categories across the two countries. These findings suggest that we need to unpack the overall budgets for detecting the particular sources of stability and change in government spending. Hence, the article offers important comparative findings that not only challenge the empirical validity of classic budgetary incrementation but also advocate an increased focus on more disaggregated spending dynamics than employed in previous studies of the model of disproportionate information processing
This article provides a comprehensive analysis of stability and punctuations in public spending within and across two different countries - Denmark and the United States. The theoretical starting point is the classic model of budget incrementation and Jones and Baumgartner's model of disproportionate information processing. First, despite the clear differences in institutional setup, we show that public spending spanning many decades in Denmark and the United States are characterized by a similar distribution of small-medium, and large-scale spending changes. What is more intriguing is that we show how this aggregate result obscures (1) substantical variation between categories of public spending and (2) similar tendencies with similar spending categories across the two countries. These findings suggest that we need to unpack the overall budgets for detecting the particular sources of stability and change in government spending. Hence, the article offers important comparative findings that not only challenge the empirical validity of classic budgetary incrementation but also advocate an increased focus on more disaggregated spending dynamics than employed in previous studies of the model of disproportionate information processing
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