Participatory Budgeting: Direct Democracy in Action

Citizen expectations of government are rising across the globe as illustrated in the findings of a 2012 study of central government legislative bodies. The study found that “politicians are obliged to account publicly for their actions more regularly and routinely” than in the past (United Nations D...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chinese public administration review 2020-06, Vol.11 (1), p.1-5
Main Authors: Rubin, Marilyn Marks, Ebdon, Carol
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Central government
Citizen participation
Community involvement
Decision making
Development programs
Direct democracy
Economic development
Expectations
General public
Legislatures
Residents
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Summary:Citizen expectations of government are rising across the globe as illustrated in the findings of a 2012 study of central government legislative bodies. The study found that “politicians are obliged to account publicly for their actions more regularly and routinely” than in the past (United Nations Development Programme and Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2012, p. 3) and that citizen demand for more accountable government is growing. At the same time that citizen expectations regarding government performance are rising, their level of trust in government is eroding. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), just 42 percent of residents of its member nations1 trust their governments (2017). One mechanism being used by governments to gain (or regain) citizen trust is participatory budgeting (PB), “a collaborative decision-making process which urges for citizen inclusion though local community representatives in deciding on the allocation of public resources on annual basis” (UN-HABITAT, 2008: 2). PB is distinct from other forms of citizen participation in the budget process in that the public has a direct voice in how funds will be used; typically this involves a portion of capital funds, but it may also involve operating budget funds. The specific process varies, but essentially PB is a form of citizen participation in which local community members meet to decide how they would like to see some level of public resources allocated (Khutkyy 2017). There may be multiple stages in the process; for example, smaller groups of representatives may develop a list of projects that are then voted on by the general public.
ISSN:1539-6754
2573-1483
DOI:10.22140/cpar.v11i1.246