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Voice, Votes, and Resources: Evaluating the Effect of Participatory Democracy on Well-being

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  • Boulding, Carew
  • Wampler, Brian

Abstract

Summary Participatory governance is said to enhance governance, citizens' empowerment, and the quality of democracy, creating a virtuous cycle to improve the well-being of the poor. However, there is limited empirical evidence for this relationship. Drawing from an original database of Brazil's 220 largest cities, we assess whether the adoption of a participatory budgeting (PB) program is associated with changes in social spending or changes in several indicators of well-being. We find that PB municipalities spend a slightly higher share of their budget on health and education programs, but there is little evidence that this shift in budget priorities affects measurable outcomes.

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  • Boulding, Carew & Wampler, Brian, 2010. "Voice, Votes, and Resources: Evaluating the Effect of Participatory Democracy on Well-being," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 125-135, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:38:y:2010:i:1:p:125-135
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    1. Gonçalves, Sónia, 2014. "The Effects of Participatory Budgeting on Municipal Expenditures and Infant Mortality in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 94-110.
    2. Devkota, Bishnu Prasad, 2020. "Social inclusion and deliberation in response to REDD+ in Nepal’s community forestry," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    3. Timmons, Jeffrey F. & Garfias, Francisco, 2015. "Revealed Corruption, Taxation, and Fiscal Accountability: Evidence from Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 13-27.
    4. Dorota Bednarska-Olejniczak & Jarosław Olejniczak & Libuše Svobodová, 2019. "Towards a Smart and Sustainable City with the Involvement of Public Participation—The Case of Wroclaw," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-33, January.
    5. Smoke, Paul, 2016. "Looking Beyond Conventional Intergovernmental Fiscal Frameworks: Principles, Realities, and Neglected Issues," ADBI Working Papers 606, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    6. Lee, Dongwon & Min, Sujin, 2023. "Participatory budgeting and the pattern of local government spending: Evidence from South Korea," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Olejniczak Jarosław & Bednarska-Olejniczak Dorota, 2024. "Public participation in rural areas supported by regional governments in the context of sustainable rural development: The case of Poland," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 60(3), pages 186-198.
    8. Mayka, Lindsay & Abbott, Jared, 2023. "Varieties of participatory institutions and interest intermediation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    9. de Renzio, Paolo & Wehner, Joachim, 2017. "The impacts of fiscal openness," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 82521, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Sheely, Ryan, 2015. "Mobilization, Participatory Planning Institutions, and Elite Capture: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Rural Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 251-266.
    11. Mogues, Tewodaj & Erman, Alvina, 2016. "Institutional arrangements to make public spending responsive to the poor—(where) have they worked?: Review of the evidence on four major intervention types," IFPRI discussion papers 1519, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Saguin, Kidjie, 2018. "Why the poor do not benefit from community-driven development: Lessons from participatory budgeting," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 220-232.
    13. Margaret Gollagher & Janette Hartz-Karp, 2013. "The Role of Deliberative Collaborative Governance in Achieving Sustainable Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(6), pages 1-24, May.
    14. Isaksson, Ann-Sofie, 2010. "Political participation in Africa: Participatory inequalities and the role of resources," Working Papers in Economics 462, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, revised 01 Oct 2010.
    15. Abu Elias Sarker & Syed Awais Ahmad Tipu & Farhana Razzaque, 2022. "An Integrative Dynamic Framework of Social Accountability: Determinants, Initiatives, and Outcomes," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 117-133, March.
    16. Speer, Johanna, 2012. "Participatory Governance Reform: A Good Strategy for Increasing Government Responsiveness and Improving Public Services?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(12), pages 2379-2398.
    17. Junying Lin & Zhonggen Zhang & Lingli Lv, 2019. "The Impact of Program Participation on Rural Household Income: Evidence from China’s Whole Village Poverty Alleviation Program," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, March.
    18. Grillos, Tara, 2017. "Participatory Budgeting and the Poor: Tracing Bias in a Multi-Staged Process in Solo, Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 343-358.
    19. Jaramillo, Miguel & Wright, Glenn Daniel, 2015. "Participatory Democracy and Effective Policy: Is There a Link? Evidence from Rural Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 280-292.
    20. Davide Luca, 2016. "Do bureaucracies enhance or constrain policy effectiveness? Evidence from Turkey’s central management of public investment," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 109, European Institute, LSE.

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