Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System

economics

Also known as: PPBS

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 17, 2026

Quick Summary

The Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS) is an approach to government budgeting that aims to improve decision-making by focusing on outputs and objectives rather than traditional departmental structures. Instead of categorizing spending by departments, PPBS classifies expenditures based on the programs and policy objectives they serve. This method seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of each program and consider alternative ways to achieve the same goals, along with their associated costs. The U.S. government pioneered PPBS in the 1960s, and it has since been adopted by other countries to bring more rationality to defense planning and other government activities.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

public administration
Responses to incrementalism
…less successful, technique was the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS), introduced into the U.S. Department of Defense in 1961 and extended to the federal budget in 1965. According to PPBS, the objectives of government programs were to be identified, and then alternative means of achieving these objectives were to…
Read More
…less successful, technique was the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS), introduced into the U.S. Department of Defense in 1961 and extended to the federal budget in 1965. According to PPBS, the objectives of government programs were to be identified, and then alternative means of achieving these objectives were to…
Read More

economic planning
Stages of planning in developed countries
…as the planning–programming–budgetary system (PPBS), represents an effort to improve the planning of government expenditures. Starting from the fact that public expenditures are not sensitive to the economic considerations of price and profitability but that they nevertheless use up scarce resources that have economic value, PPBS attempts to provide…
Read More
…as the planning–programming–budgetary system (PPBS), represents an effort to improve the planning of government expenditures. Starting from the fact that public expenditures are not sensitive to the economic considerations of price and profitability but that they nevertheless use up scarce resources that have economic value, PPBS attempts to provide…
Read More

defense economics
Choosing weapon systems
…systems analysis, as well as planning, programming, and budgeting systems (PPBS) and functional costing, became common in defense management. Much of the intellectual capital invested in these techniques came from economists, whose discipline in costing options and marginal analysis provided them (if not always the defense managers they advised) a…
Read More
…systems analysis, as well as planning, programming, and budgeting systems (PPBS) and functional costing, became common in defense management. Much of the intellectual capital invested in these techniques came from economists, whose discipline in costing options and marginal analysis provided them (if not always the defense managers they advised) a…
Read More