Citizen Participation in Budgeting: A Tradeoff between Knowledge and Inclusiveness?

Public Administration Review, Forthcoming

36 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2015 Last revised: 30 Jul 2015

Date Written: February 27, 2015

Abstract

Prior research on citizen participation has noted a tension between fostering an inclusive policymaking process and simultaneously maintaining a competent pool of participating citizens. This study investigates the implications of this trade-off by testing the impact of measured levels of inclusiveness and participating citizens’ knowledgeability on two performance metrics: citizen engagement and process efficiency. Results indicate that although inclusiveness may be negatively associated with the level of engagement, both knowledgeability and inclusiveness are positively associated with process efficiency. Overall, the findings suggest that policymakers can pursue the democratic ideal of opening policymaking to the citizenry while still maintaining an efficient process.

Keywords: Citizen participation in budgeting, participatory budgeting, public participation, crowdsourcing, wisdom of crowds

Suggested Citation

Hong, Sounman, Citizen Participation in Budgeting: A Tradeoff between Knowledge and Inclusiveness? (February 27, 2015). Public Administration Review, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2571141

Sounman Hong (Contact Author)

Yonsei University ( email )

Seoul
Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

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