Budget Transparency Ranking of Russian Constituent Entities as a Tool to Improve Public Finance Management Effectiveness

Abstract

Government budget transparency, involvement of citizens in the processes of budget planning and control are considered by the authors as a tool aiming to improve the effectiveness of public finance management. The paper aims at solving the problem of creating an incentives system for public authorities which will result in increasing the budget transparency. The authors believe that at the moment the ranking of the budget transparency of Russian constituent entities is an effective tool for increasing the budget transparency at the regional level in Russia.
Such a ranking has been existing since 2013 when it was established. The article considers the main methodical specifics of the ranking and compares data with The World Open Budget Index (OBI) by the International Budget Partnership. The main results obtained during the ranking process are also presented. These results demonstrate the state of budget transparency of Russian regions, as well as the positive changes that have taken place during the ranking. The authors formulate both the problems to be solved at the present stage of work to increase the level of budget transparency at the regional level and suggest solutions.