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For nearly half a century, Allen Schick's works have explored and analyzed central issues in the role of budgets in modern government. In 2009, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published Evolutions in Budgetary Practice: Allen Schick and the OECD Senior Budget Offi cials, a selection of his work, together with new chapters. Th e book traces developments in budget practices and reforms since the 1980s, relating them to changes in the role of government, and discusses challenges to contemporary budgeting and how they might be met. Th is collection provides an invaluable insight into Schick's thinking about public budgeting: a perspective on the past, a practical resource for the present, and a guide to the future.

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For over fifty years, efforts have been made to measure the results of government activities. Most recently, performance measurement and evaluation have been key components of government reforms in many countries in reaction to loss of confidence in governments and budget stringency. Emphasis is on measuring outcomes or results within a general framework of strategic planning and objective setting, and in a context of devolution, managerial decentralization, and privatization. While it seems reasonable that governments should justify their use of public funds by demonstrating the effectiveness of their programs and activities, performance measurement in practice is by no means straightforward and demands considerable thought in its design and implementation.

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