Theory, research, and practice in state budgeting: A symposium

This symposium is about the interaction of theory, research, and practice in state budgeting. The public budgeting literature is replete with normative, prescriptive theories. Such theories, Irene Rubin has argued, have been reasonably successful as guides for budget practice. However, there is a dearth of empirical, behavioral theories which explain budget behavior and outcomes. Research which contributes to empirical theory building has a high priority for students of budgeting. The symposium consists of four articles, one which considers the relationship between prescriptive and behavioral theories of state budgeting, two which examine budget behavior in the states, and one which examines the relationship between theory and budget practices in state government.