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

Carew Boulding and Brian Wampler

World Development, 2010, vol. 38, issue 1, 125-135

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.

Keywords: Participatory; governance; Participatory; budgeting; Social; well-being; Local; government; resources; Latin; America; Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:38:y:2010:i:1:p:125-135

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