Bridging the Divide

The creation of Public Finance Journal (PF) is the culmination of several years of discussion about how best to address the divide between practitioners’ research needs and academic scholarship. PF’s origin is predicated on the expectation that for a professional discipline such as public administration and the subfield of public budgeting and finance, in particular, there needs to be an easily accessible forum for the dissemination of ideas and solutions. This journal would not be possible without the support of the Government Finance Officers Association, the oversight committees, the editorial board, and those helping with the journal’s management. We are excited about the inaugural edition, where we have reviews of three important books, three thought-provoking research articles, and an article that surveys current research needs in the budget and finance field as expressed by faculty and practitioners.