Replication data for: Do Expiring Budgets Lead to Wasteful Year-End Spending? Evidence from Federal Procurement

Many organizations have budgets that expire at the end of the fiscal year and may face incentives to rush to spend resources on low-quality projects at year's end. We test these predictions using data on procurement spending by the US federal government. Spending in the last week of the year is 4.9 times higher than the rest-of-the-year weekly average, and year-end information technology projects have substantially lower quality ratings. We also analyze the gains from allowing agencies to roll over unused funds into the next fiscal year.

诸多机构的预算均会在财年末到期，因此往往存在年末仓促将资金投入低质量项目的行为动机。本研究借助美国联邦政府采购支出数据，对上述预判展开了实证检验。年末最后一周的采购支出较年度其余周均支出均值高出4.9倍，且年末开展的信息技术项目的质量评级显著偏低。本研究同时探讨了允许各机构将未使用资金结转至下一财年所能产生的收益。