Public Budgeting

I thought that Public Budgeting by David Nice gave a "short and to the point" analysis of what public budgeting is; and the role that administrators and other government officials play in facilitating budgets. David Nice's approach to defining the key elements of the a budget process, as well as the "unconventional" elements and strategies that are involved in budgeting; such as political lobbying, social planning and economic factors, I thought were great because most text books give a technical view vs. an everyday more realistic view of how budgets are achieved. As a person who has worked in the federal government, private sector, not for profit and for a local government, I have had the opportunity to observe and work on budget processes on many levels. I have had to produce departmental budgets early on in my career, which proved to be challenging because I was unfamiliar with many of the aspects of the budget process. Had I known then what I know now from what I've learned in this course and after reading this book, the budget process makes much more sense and is far less daunting. By providing the pros and cons of each budgetary topic discussed, as well as the end of chapter summaries and conclusions Nice tied all of the important issues of the chapter together. It became much more practical and helpful to me. I would recommend anyone having something to do with a budget, at any level, keep and read this book as a quick reference.

Public Budgeting by David Nice (Wadsworth, Thompson Learning:2002) is extremely informative. I was introduced to this text as a student at Southeastern University (Washington, DC). What I like most about this text is that it is amazingly thorough and unlike many of the textbooks I have come across as a student, contains abundant quality information in a textbook that is not burdensome to carry. Nice provides information about budgeting in a concise,clear manner. This text is filled with factual, objective accounts of the budget process. In Public Budgeting, David Nice explores the stages of Public Budgeting from Budget Preparation to Budget Adoption and Budget Execution. The book even gives readers an inside look into the budget process by exploring subjects such as "how the economy affects government budgets", "public budgeting's effects on the economy", "intergovernmental aspects of public budgeting", and budget strategies. The budget strategies segment of the text was the most enjoyable to me because, as an aspiring public administrator - having read this text makes me feel more prepared to make informed decisions relating to public budgets in the career I am pursuing. Overall, I couldn't suggest a better book to students of public budgeting. It really, really touches on all areas of budgeting and manages to be interesting, entertaining, and informative at once. Highly recommended.

I found this book to be very helpful in the introduction of the public budgeting process. Unlike so many other books, this book by David Nice was clear and to the point. I particulary enjoyed how David nice explains the uses of the public budgeting, major revenues sources and spending patters at various levels of the United States Government, the phases of creating and adopting a budget and the relationship between budgeting and the economy. Very good book which I recommend to anyone involved in anytype of public budgeting, public finance or anytype of related field involving financial administration.

Public Budgeting is an area that few outside of the federal arena understand. In the text entitled, "Public Budgeting" written by David C. Nice, the reader is taken by the hand and guided through the budgeting process on a national, state and local level. Public Budgeting provides theories and strategies on the budget process as well as a guide on how governments collect and spend money. Each chapter is building on a foundation of knowledge received in the previous chapters. From budget formulation, to budget adoption and execution, Professor Nice has done an exception job in guiding the student of public administration through the many stages of the process without confusing and ambiguous terms. As an example, in the chapter entitled, "Techniques of Budget Analysis", Professor Nice describes the methods of forecasting, types of policy analysis and program evaluation. The terms were clear and concise and the application of the methods were made simple. As a graduate student, I have had to read and work through a great deal of textbooks. What they all had in common was the inability to grasp the theories and difficult concepts to follow. This was not the case with Professor Nice's book. Hats off to David Nice for taking the time to demystifing the budgeting process.

David Nice is presently a professor of political science at Washington State University. He is the author of other books, including Public Budgeting. He also writes professional periodicals. Nice, David C.,