ABSTRACT
Government reformers have been trying to increase the use of performance information in budget processes for more than fifty years. Why does this recurring reform have such currency? In short, because budget processes allocate scarce resources among competing purposes. Since taxpayer dollar resources are limited, understanding the effects of resources on the objectives of government action is important. In fact, the more scarce the resources, the more important it is that they be allocated wisely. In such an environment, it becomes even more vital that resource allocation decisions be focused primarily on the effectiveness of spending and tax policies.
