Book Reviews : The West in Asia 1850-1914. By MICHAEL EDWARDES. (London: B. T. Batsford Ltd., 1967. 42 s. net.)

• Author: John P. Vloyantes
• Published date: 01 September 1968
• Date: 01 September 1968
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296802100316
• Subject Matter: Articles

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analysis of legislative budget machinery, this is a work of limited interest, appealing
only to some political scientists in the fields of public administration, state govern-
ment, and the legislative process. Doubleday accurately describes the major limit
of his work when he states that this &dquo;... is not a study of the politics of the
budget....&dquo; For this reason it can hardly be considered a companion to the recent
work by Aaron Wildavsky, The Politics of the Budgetary Process.
On the other hand, much useful information will be found in Legislative
Review. For not only is this a detailed description of the mechanics of legislative
budget control in California, but it is also a history of how that machinery came
to be. Beginning with the constitutional amendment of 1922 which for the first
time placed budget responsibility in the governor’s office, Doubleday traces the
growth of the present budget system through creation of the Legislative Analyst
( 1941 ) , adoption of an annual budget (1946), and the establishment of an inde-
pendent legislative audit (1955). But since this is a study of legislative control,
there is little attention paid to such agencies as the Controller’s office or the
Department of Finance.
Following a brief introduction, the author examines in detail the Joint Legis-
lative Budget Committee, the Legislative Analyst, the &dquo;Analysis,&dquo; the appropria-
tions committees, and House deliberations. Of particular interest is his discussion
of the degree to which the legislature controls (or does not control) spending. And
as would be expected, the author offers some suggestions for more effective control.
But much more importantly, he provides an insightful discussion of the ambiguity
of the concept of control. Students of the budget process will not be surprised to
read that the author concludes that the process bears little resemblance to the
classic model of rational decision-making, and that in fact it more closely resembles
...