"At a time when debate on important public issues is confused by disdain for facts and information, this book offers an accessible guide to documents that citizens, policy makers, and students can use to determine for themselves what is really happening with their governments. It provides examples and clear explanations that can help them cut through and make sense of the volumes of often impenetrable material in budgets. In so doing the authors issue a clarion call for more informed debate and discussion of public policy."
—Jeffrey Holland, VP Research, Peter G Peterson Foundation
Praise for previous editions –
"I think this is a wonderful project. It fills a long-standing need for a simplified but rich description and assessment of budgeting, made accessible to a wide range of students and practitioners."
—Paul Posner, former Professor and Director of Public Administration, George Mason University
"There are few public policy subjects as difficult as government budgeting. Professor Musell's book Understanding Government Budgets provides a clear, concise guide that will help practitioners, academics, businessmen, students, and the public at large better understand the complex and complicated world of government budgeting."
—Barry Anderson, former Director of the Division of Budgeting and Public Expenditures, OECD Paris
"Mark Musell has written an outstanding guide to government budgets. Students, practitioners, and citizens who want to understand how governments use their money will all benefit from his concise, accessible book."
—Donald Marron, Institute Fellow, Tax Policy Center of Urban Institute and Brookings Institution
"Public budget documents have evolved to serve multiple roles. In addition to presenting basic financial plans, contemporary budgets communicate performance data, strategic plans, organizational structure, financial and budgetary policies, and political rhetoric. As a result, public budgets have grown thick with useful (and not so useful) information. The terminology, formatting, and shear volume often combine to make budgets inaccessible to the average reader. Citizens, novice public administrators, and students alike will find R. Mark Musell's book an excellent guide to the interpretation of the often obscure language of public budgeting. Understanding Government Budgetsis filled with clear and focused writing, helpful examples, and an appreciable practicality."
—Gary Kirk, Executive Director, Center for Civic Learning and Action at Dickinson College, USA
"Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." — CHOICE, Jun 2009 Vol. 46 No. 10
