The Origins of Budgetary Preferences

Abstract

Although budgetary theory points out the importance of the balanced budget norm in influencing budgetary outcomes and procedures, this literature tends to ignore where these preferences originate. This study analyzes the source of the balanced budget preference in Japan, identifying its origins, institutionalization, and influence on budgetary policy. The origins of the balanced budget preference are located in the period of the American occupation of postwar Japan. This research, therefore, extends the early incrementalist comparative literature, as well as contemporary theoretical efforts that link budgetary preferences to budgetary outcomes.