Authors: Stavroula Grigoriadou, Alina Xyz

Title: Administrative Reform of Greek State Budgeting

Abstract

This study focusses on the implementation of Performance Budgeting in Greece. A paradigm shift from Incremental to Performance Budgeting has emerged because of external pressures, the economic crisis and the rising need to minimize public expenditure. The classic form of state budget used in Greece is directly related to inputs and it is not originally linked to either the planning or the management of public policies. Consequently, no guidelines emerge during its implementation and it cannot be used as a policy or decision-making tool since it does not leave enough space for flexibility or major changes in the allocation of resources. Greece is adjusting its budgetary system in order to adapt to its international and European environment by adopting isomorphic changes. Analyzing three forms of isomorphic pressures: a) coercive (response to external pressure), b) normative (professionals push to conform to a set of norms and rules in order to get legitimate), c) mimetic (modelling/imitating others), effort is made to understand the barriers to organizational change and the heterogeneity of isomorphic pressures in order to explain how Greek Ministries respond to reform agenda in order to gain legitimacy and power. The research is limited to the context of one country and does not claim to provide an overall generalization of results, only to improve the current situation awareness. The value of this paper contributes to the research agenda on the role of budgeting in reinventing the public sector, analyzing what theories to apply in order to understand state budgeting disfunctions and how can those techniques be advanced.