Public Administration Magna Carta Mercantilism Research Proposal

Sustained improvement in the national and regional economies will be critical to improvement in state and local fiscal conditions (Understanding State Budget Troubles, 2003).

Question 3

Distinguish between rational approaches and incremental approaches budgeting.

The rational approach to budgeting views the budgetary process as a set of logical steps that lead to agency budget decisions based on needs, priorities, plans, goals and objectives. The incremental model of budgeting views the budgetary process as being influenced by past budgeting decisions. Agencies are given a new budget amount based upon what they have been allotted in years past, instead of based upon what they might need for the upcoming and present year (Kettner, Moroney and Martin, n.d.). One approach is always looking backwards while the other is forward thinking in nature.

References

Kettner, Peter M., Moroney, Robert M., and Martin, Lawrence L. (n.d.). Designing and Managing Programs. Retrieved July 7, 2009, from Web site:

http://www.campuskitchens.org/kellogg/images/ves/designing_and_managing_budgeting

.pdf

Understanding State Budget Troubles. (2003). Retrieved July 7, 2009,from Economic Research

and Data Web site: http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2003/el2003-23.html