Alternative Budgets: Budgeting as if People Mattered

by John Loxley

Alternative budgets are presented as a method of political mobilization that advances fiscally responsible government allocation of resources in this treatise on the enlightened alternatives to the neoconservative agenda of slashing social services. The basics of budgeting, the technical and political contexts of budgeting, and the relationship between budget legislation and fiscal constraints on governments are among the issues discussed to make the more esoteric aspects of budgeting understandable. A budget that emphasizes the needs of poor people, women, and the environment is outlined with information on how to construct alternative budgets, analyze the possibilities of government funding, and mobilize political activists to propose clear, affordable alternatives to neoliberal government cutbacks.

178 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

John Loxley is Professor and former head of the Department of Economics at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. He specializes in international finance, international development and community economic development, in particular alternatives to orthodox economic theory and policy. His distinguished career includes stints at Makerere University and the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, as well as service to the governments of Tanzania, Uganda, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Manitoba as economic advisor.