The development of the budget process under the principles of Fiscal discipline and Value-for-Money

Abstract

Thailand’s national budget process involves numerous laws and institutions, such as the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, the State Fiscal and Financial Discipline Act B.E. 2561 (2018), the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) and the State Fiscal and Financial Discipline Committee. These legal instruments and organizations are designed to ensure that Thailand’s fiscal and budgetary mechanisms operate efficiently and effectively. However, in practice, the budget process still requires significant improvement in terms of fiscal discipline and Value-for-Money principles. Challenges include the government’s tendency to pursue populist policies, the limited capacity of parliamentary budget committee and insufficient public participation in budgetary oversight.

            This study aims to strengthen fiscal discipline and Value-for-Money principles to enhance the efficiency and stability of Thailand’s budget process. It conducts a comparative study of four selected countries, focusing on their practices across four key stages: budget formulation, budget approval, budget execution and budget auditing. The findings lead to recommendations for enhancing data processes in budget documents, reinforcing the role of the Budget Bureau, improving parliamentary procedures related to budgeting and developing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for populist programs.