ABSTRACT
Ethics is a thread that runs through all disciplines and professions. Acting ethical is a paradigm that is expected as a hallmark or mainstay of the professions. There are many divergent yet interrelated definitions of ethics. This entry will not overanalyze or simplify the treatment of “ethics,” but will only offer some grounding points for a conceptual definition of ethics applied to public budgeting. Yet the importance of an ethical compass to guide the theory and practice of public budgeting is paramount, given the analytic, financial, and political dimensions of the field. Indeed, the trust placed in the efficient utilization of the purse to achieve public purposes is a hallmark to democratic governance in its most basic implementation.
