Budget Reform and Political Reform: Conclusions from Six Cities

What factors influence the adoption of budget reforms in big cities? Irene S. Rubin focuses attention on the adoption of new and innovative budget techniques in six major cities over the past two decades. Budget reform was common among all six cities, although the reformed systems evolved in different ways in each jurisdiction. Environmental threats were influential, but Rubin did not find a direct one-to-one link between such threats and the adoption of reform. Categorizing the cities by level of political reform, Rubin finds that the most-reformed jurisdictions were likely to adopt budget reforms more quickly than other cities, although the innovations eventually spread to those classified as intermediate- and least-reformed cities. The level of political reform also determined the motivation behind the adoption of new budgeting approaches, with the most-reformed governments demonstrating a willingness to try something new and the least-reformed jurisdictions embracing those innovations that would enhance control over departmental operations. Thus, budget reforms do have a widespread impact over time, and their adoption is not merely symbolic, but often a reflection of the need to deal with problems.