Přehled o publikaci

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to determine what phases of the budgetary process are according to the predictions of the punctuated equilibrium theory more prone to punctuations and to test these assumptions using Czech regional data from 2005 to 2023. Design/methodology/approach: Data on the Czech regional current expenditure from 2005 to 2023 disaggregated into 113 functional budget lines are used. The two-sample Z-Test is used to determine if the number of large annual changes in a functional budget line differs in the approved, amended, and executed budgets. A binary logit model is used to test whether independent variables make policymakers more or less likely to adopt punctuation in the different budget phases. Findings: The paper finds that punctuations are more frequent in budget allocation than in actual spending and that greater comprehensiveness in the budget process leads to more punctuations. The number of punctuations grew during the rebudgeting phase in the case of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 and the Ukrainian refugees wave in 2022. Changes in government leadership did not have any impact. Academic contribution to the field: The paper makes a novel exploration of the punctuated equilibrium theory by linking it to local government budgeting phases. It considers the evolution of punctuations across different stages by disaggregating the budgeting process into phases of approved, amended, and executed budgets and the impact of external shocks. It demonstrates punctuated equilibrium theory’s adaptability in exploring the influence of unprecedented events on public policy (public budgeting). Originality/significance/value: The paper realized the difference between local government budgeting phases due to the distinction in institutional costs and exogenous shocks when reaching and implementing a decision. This segmentation of the budgetary process provides a valuable contribution to both punctuation theory and practices.