One of the many areas in which democracies are suffering from weakened legitimacy is how governments raise and spend public resources. It seems to many that budget decisions are made by unaccountable leaders acting behind closed doors, perhaps at the behest of powerful actors. Meaningful debate around spending and revenue choices can happen only in countries where sufficient budget information is publicly available, and where citizens have opportunities to influence decisions. Where budget information is not available, citizens have fewer reasons to trust their governments, perhaps leading to a vicious circle of poor transparency, weakened democracy and increasing public mistrust.

The problem is that this information is increasingly hard to find.…  Seguir leyendo »