Budgetary Politics in American Governments (Paperback: 302 pages)

Budgetary Politics in American Governments offers an engaging analysis of why the public budgeting process intensifies political competition at all levels of the U.S. federal system. Gosling takes an intergovernmental approach, examining in readable, lively prose the actors, institutions, and processes of U.S. public budgeting at the local, state, and federal levels and how they have changed in the last several decades. This edition examines tax policy in the 2008 presidential elections, budgeting for military expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the challenges facing state and local governments during federal budget shortfalls. Updates throughout focus on fiscal policy and budgetary politics during the George W. Bush administration and projections into the next president's term.

In addition, the Fifth edition features:

• A new chapter on the nuts and bolts of the budgetary process, focused on the implications of budget formats for political outcomes;
• A broadened discussion of federalism throughout the book, to better illustrate intergovernmental relations;
• A thoroughly revised chapter on patterns of stability and change in public budgeting, assessing recent trends and forecasting likely challenges ahead;
• The addition of bolded key terms that correspond to the glossary at the end of the book

James J. Gosling has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Utah. His other recent books include Economics, Politics, and American Public Policy (2008); Politics and Policy in American States and Communities, Seventh Edition (2010); and Understanding, Informing, and Appraising Public Policy (2004).