James D. Savage

Last updated

James D. Savage (born November 14, 1951) is a political science professor at the University of Virginia who teaches public policy in the Department of Politics and the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. [1] He is an expert in government budget and fiscal policies and budget theory. He completed his undergraduate degrees in political science and psychology at the University of California, Riverside, his graduate degrees in political science, public policy, and economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and his post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University. At Berkeley, Savage studied under Nelson Polsby and Aaron Wildavsky. In 2013, Savage received the Aaron B. Wildavsky Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement in budgeting and public financial management from the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management, and in 2014 he was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. [1]

Savage is best known for four books on American and comparative budgeting and fiscal policy: Balanced Budgets and American Politics (Cornell University Press); Funding Science in America: Congress, Universities and the Politics of the Academic Porkbarrel (Cambridge University Press); Making the EMU: The Politics of Budgetary Surveillance and the Enforcement of Maastricht (Oxford University Press); and Reconstructing Iraq's Budgetary Institutions: Coalition State Building after Saddam (Cambridge University Press).

The first book explores the origins of the idea of balancing budgets and its effect on American politics, fiscal policies, and institutional development from 1690 through the Reagan presidency. The book argues that the idea of balancing the budget is fundamentally rooted in American political thought that can be tied, for example, to the political differences that divided the Jeffersonians and the Hamiltonians. [2]

The second book analyzes the politics of congressional earmarking in the federal budget for universities and colleges. This book explores how the idea of peer review of federal research funding is violated by universities that engage in earmarking.

The third book examines how the enforcement of the Maastricht Treaty's budgetary rules played a critical role in the creation of the European Union's Economic and Monetary Union and the later enforcement of the Stability and Growth Pact.

The last book argues that consistent with the literature on state building, failed states, and foreign assistance, budgeting is a core state function that is necessary for the operations of a functional government. Employing an historical institutionalist approach, the book first explores the Ottoman, British, and Ba'athist origins of Iraq's budgetary institutions. The book next examines American prewar planning, the Coalition Provisional Authority's rule making and budgeting following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the mixed success of the American-led Coalition's capacity building programs initiated throughout the occupation.

The common thread connecting these books together is that budgeting and budgetary policies are deeply influenced by and reflect the contest over ideas and values.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government budget balance</span> Difference between revenues and spending

The government budget balance, also alternatively referred to as general government balance, public budget balance, or public fiscal balance, is the overall difference between government revenues and spending. A positive balance is called a government budget surplus, and a negative balance is a government budget deficit. A government budget is a financial statement presenting the government's proposed revenues and spending for a financial year. A budget is prepared for each level of government and takes into account public social security obligations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leon Panetta</span> American politician, Secretary of Defense 2011–2013

Leon Edward Panetta is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in several different public office positions, including Secretary of Defense, CIA Director, White House Chief of Staff, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and as a U.S. Representative from California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congressional Budget Office</span> U.S. Government agency

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages the state budget in a strictly nonpartisan fashion, the CBO was created as a nonpartisan agency by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

A balanced budget amendment is a constitutional rule requiring that a state cannot spend more than its income. It requires a balance between the projected receipts and expenditures of the government.

In the United States, conservatism is based on a belief in limited government, individualism, traditionalism, republicanism, and limited federal governmental power in relation to U.S. states. Conservative and Christian media organizations, along with American conservative figures, are influential, and American conservatism is one of the majority political ideologies within the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Wildavsky</span>

Aaron Wildavsky was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiscal adjustment</span>

A fiscal adjustment is a reduction in the government primary budget deficit, and it can result from a reduction in government expenditures, an increase in tax revenues, or both simultaneously.

Harry Harding is an American political scientist specializing in Chinese politics and foreign affairs. He was the founding dean of the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, and had previously served as dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Harding has advised several US Presidents on developments in the PRC; before the Tiananmen Square demonstrations he was brought to Camp David for informal discussions with the first Bush administration. He has written several books, including China's Second Revolution and A Fragile Relationship: The United States and China Since 1972. Harding has a Chinese name: 何汉理.

Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and laissez-faire economics. Fiscal conservatives advocate tax cuts, reduced government spending, free markets, deregulation, privatization, free trade, and minimal government debt. Fiscal conservatism follows the same philosophical outlook of classical liberalism. This concept is derived from economic liberalism.

A government budget is a projection of the government's revenues and spendings for a particular period of time often referred to as a financial or fiscal year, which may or may not correspond with the calendar year. Government revenues mostly include taxes while expenditures consist of government spendings. A government budget is prepared by the government or other political entity. In most parliamentary systems, the budget is presented to the legislature and often requires approval of the legislature. Through this budget, the government implements economic policy and realizes its program priorities. Once the budget is approved, the use of funds from individual chapters is in the hands of government ministries and other institutions. Revenues of the state budget consist mainly of taxes, customs duties, fees and other revenues. State budget expenditures cover the activities of the state, which are either given by law or the constitution. The budget in itself does not appropriate funds for government programs, hence need for additional legislative measures. The word budget comes from the Old French bougette.

Budget theory is the academic study of political and social motivations behind government and civil society budgeting. Classic theorists in Public Budgeting include Henry Adams, William F. Willoughby, V. O. Key, Jr., and, more recently, Aaron Wildavsky. Notable recent theorists include Frank R. Baumgartner, Bryan D. Jones, Richard Fenno, Allen Schick, Dennis Ippolito, Naomi Caiden, Irene Rubin, James D. Savage, Thomas Greitens, Gary Wamsley, and Usman W. Chohan. Budget theory was a central topic during the Progressive Era and was much discussed in municipal bureaus and other academic and quasi-academic facilities of that time such as the nascent Brookings Institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy</span> Public policy school of the University of Virginia

The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is the public policy school of the University of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of George H. W. Bush</span> U.S. presidential administration from 1989 to 1993

George H. W. Bush's tenure as the 41st president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1989, and ended on January 20, 1993. Bush was a Republican from Texas and the incumbent vice president for two terms under president Ronald Reagan. Bush took office following a victory over Democrat nominee Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election. His presidency ended following his defeat in the 1992 presidential election by Democrat Bill Clinton. Bush, the 41st president, was the father of the 43rd president, George W. Bush.

In political science, political particularism is the ability of policymakers to further their careers by catering to narrow interests rather than to broader national platforms.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) is a non-profit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. that addresses federal budget and fiscal issues. It was founded in 1981 by former United States Representatives Robert Giaimo (D-CT) and Henry Bellmon (R-OK), and its board of directors includes former Members of Congress and directors of the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget Office and the Federal Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norbert Barthle</span> German politician

Norbert Barthle is a German politician of the Christian Democratic (CDU) who served as a member of the Bundestag from 1998 until 2021, representing Backnang – Schwäbisch Gmünd.

Public budgeting is a field of public administration and a discipline in the academic study of public administration. Budgeting is characterized by its approaches, functions, formation, and type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition to Reduce Spending</span>

The Coalition to Reduce Spending is a non-partisan political advocacy group based in Alexandria, Virginia, the United States. The mission of the Coalition to Reduce Spending is to advocate for reduced federal spending and balanced budgets. The coalition believes all the United States federal spending should be open for reduction.

Bryan D. Jones is an American political scientist and public policy scholar. He holds the J. J. "Jake" Pickle Regents Chair in Congressional Studies at the University of Texas. He is an Academic Director of the Comparative Agendas Project, which has received more than $2,650,000 of National Science Foundation grant funding.

Eric M. Patashnik is an American political scientist, author, professor of public policy and political science at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and Department of Political Science at Brown University.

References

  1. 1 2 "James Savage". Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, UVA. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  2. McQuaid, Kim (1989). "Book Review: Balanced Budgets and American Politics; By Savage, James D. · Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1988". Business History Review. 63 (2): 440–441. doi:10.2307/3115715. ISSN   2044-768X. JSTOR   3115715. S2CID   155665085 . Retrieved 8 December 2017.