Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

List of figures -- List of tables -- List of boxes -- Acknowledgements -- Notes on contributors -- Acronyms and abbreviations -- The institutional and legal framework -- Introduction -- The macroeconomic framework for managing public finances / Richard Hemming -- Public financial management requirements for effective implementation of fiscal rules / Ana Corbacho and Teresa Ter-Minassian -- The legal framework for public finances and budget systems / Ian Lienert -- Designing fiscal institutions: the political economy of PFM reforms / Joachim Wehner and Paolo de Renzio -- Role, responsibilities, structure and evolution of central finance agencies / Richard Allen and Philipp Krause -- Role of the legislature in budget processes / Ian Lienert -- Assessing and comparing the quality of public financial management systems : theory, history and evidence / Paolo de Renzio -- The allocation of resources -- The coverage and classification of the budget / Daniel Tommasi -- Policy formulation and the budget process / Jack Diamond -- Medium-term expenditure frameworks -- Performance budgeting -- Fiscal federalism and intergovernmental financial relations -- Managing budget execution -- The budget execution process -- The role of procurement -- Public sector payroll management -- The treasury function and the treasury single account -- Internal control and internal audit -- Managing extra-budgetary funds -- Managing government revenue -- Tax design from a public financial management perspective -- Revenue forecasting -- Efficient revenue administration -- Customs administration -- User charging -- Managing nonrenewable resource revenues -- Managing foreign aid through country systems -- The development and use of public sector balance sheets -- Public investment management and public-private partnerships -- Managing fiscal risk -- Sovereign wealth funds -- Assessing a government's non-debt liabilities -- Debt and cash management -- Financial management and oversight of state owned enterprises -- Accounting, reporting and oversight of public finances -- Strengthening fiscal transparency -- Government accounting standards and policies -- Government financial reporting standards and practices -- Government financial management information systems -- External audit -- The role of independent fiscal agencies -- References -- Glossary -- Index.