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Figure 4.7Open Budget Index, 2012There is large variation in the transparency of governments’ budget-making processesEquatorial Guinea, Myanmar, QatarBenin, Saudi ArabiaChadIraq, Niger, ZambiaFijiRwandaCameroon, SenegalChina, Tunisia, YemenPlurinational State of BoliviaAlgeria, EgyptCambodiaNigeriaTajikistanDemocratic Republic of the CongoViet NamKyrgyzstan, ZimbabweBurkina FasoAngolaDominican Republic, São Tomé and PríncipeEcuadorLebanonThe former Yugoslav Republic of MacedoniaThailand, Timor-LesteBolivarian Republic of VenezuelaMorocco, Trinidad and TobagoMalaysia, Serbia, Sierra LeoneAzerbaijan, NicaraguaLiberia, Mali, El SalvadorNepalSri Lanka0123456789101112 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 4546Source: IBP 2014.Note: The Open Budget Index is a survey that evaluates the transparency of governments’ policy making processes, through assessing: the extent to which they give public access to budgetinformation—including the pre-budget statement, budget proposal, enacted budget, audit reports, etc.—and whether citizens are given the opportunity to participate in the budget processat the national level. The analysis also assesses the capacity and independence of formal oversight institutions. Countries are ranked based on a score between 0 and 100 (with 100 being themost transparent).RecommendationsIn order to contribute to substantive equality, civilsociety—including women rights activists—mustbe able to voice their concerns and priorities in thediscussion, decision-making and implementation ofmacroeconomic policy. Key measures to strengthenwomen’s agency, voice and participation in theseprocesses are:• Improve the transparency, degree of participationand accountability of the institutions that developand implement macroeconomic policy• Ensure that information regarding budgets,tax policy, monetary policy and other aspectsof macroeconomic policy is readily available,accessible and presented in a form that can beused by the public• Strengthen the capacity of civil society andwomen’s organizations to engage withmacroeconomic policy through initiatives suchas gender-responsive budgeting.