R. Mark Musell is the book’s principal author. For ten years he was the director of the master’s program in public administration at the City College of New York, where he taught courses in public budgeting and finance. He spent 25 years at the Congressional Budget Office studying the federal budget and providing members of Congress and their staff with budgetary information and analysis. Ryan Yeung is an assistant professor of urban policy and planning at Hunter College, where he teaches courses in budgeting and financial management, policy analysis, policy process, program evaluation, and education policy. He has a Ph.D. in public administration and policy from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, a master of public administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a bachelor of arts in economics and American studies from Amherst College.
Praise for previous editions - I think this is a wonderful project. It fills a long-standing need for a simplified but rich description and assessment of budgeting, made accessible to a wide range of students and practitioners. --Paul Posner, Professor and Director of Public Administration, George Mason University There are few public policy subjects as difficult as government budgeting. Professor Musell's book Understanding Government Budgets provides a clear, concise guide that will help practitioners, academics, businessmen, students, and the public at large better understand the complex and complicated world of government budgeting. --Barry Anderson, Director of the Division of Budgeting and Public Expenditures, OECD Paris Mark Musell has written an outstanding guide to government budgets. Students, practitioners, and citizens who want to understand how governments use their money will all benefit from his concise, accessible book. --Donald Marron, Senior Economic Adviser, the President's Council of Economic Advisers Public budget documents have evolved to serve multiple roles. In addition to presenting basic financial plans, contemporary budgets communicate performance data, strategic plans, organizational structure, financial and budgetary policies, and political rhetoric. As a result, public budgets have grown thick with useful (and not so useful) information. The terminology, formatting, and shear volume often combine to make budgets inaccessible to the average reader. Citizens, novice public administrators, and students alike will find R. Mark Musell's book an excellent guide to the interpretation of the often obscure language of public budgeting. Understanding Government Budgetsis filled with clear and focused writing, helpful examples, and an appreciable practicality. --Gary Kirk, James Madison University Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. -- CHOICE, Jun 2009 Vol. 46 No. 10