A new ethics of the budgetary process

This article analyzes the ethical codes within public budgeting literature to demonstrate the need for a professional ethic that fosters an expanded s ense of role responsibility. Drawing on examples of discretion exhibited by state and local budgeting administrators, the article argues that a number of administrative activities fall into a gap of the academic literature. T he article asserts that responsible budgeting decisions must be tied to an understanding of how administrative activities affect the collective welfar e. Finally, the author argues that a pedagogy of public budgeting that cons iders the ways in which institutional forces and the long-term public inter est inform administrative action more adequately prepares budgeting adminis trators to understand their roles and responsibilities.