ABSTRACT
Budget reform involves restructuring the budget process to provide better information so that decision makers can make better resource allocation decisions. Reforms have focused on process improvements such as program budgeting, performance budgeting, and zero-based budgeting, and desired outcomes such as balanced budgets and mechanisms to produce them. After an examination of the meaning of budget reform and its historical context, this article discusses how the concepts of planning, management, and control form core elements of all budget systems, but are emphasized differently in different budget systems and reforms.
