PROSPECTS AND DEMAND FACTORS OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING IN RUSSIA

Abstract

During the past three decades, citizen involvement in the management of local budgets, also known as participatory budgeting (PB), has been getting popular across the world. However, there are no systematic studies devoted to the demand factors of this mechanism. Using the Heckman procedure (censored regression) and regional Russian data on projects implemented on the principles of PB, we reveal the significant factors for its further development. In particular, the probability of using PB turned out to be most sensitive to the development of the region’s economy, the PB implementation experience and the budget independence of the region. At the same time, the volume of PB projects is sensitive not only to the implementation experience and the budget independence, but also to the share of beneficiaries and the diversity degree of the PB sphere. The Heckman procedure avoids the econometric problems linked to the selection bias and, in addition, it makes it possible to study the influence of the same factor on the probability and volume of PB implementation. Further prospects for PB development in Russia depend on the next issues: ensuring greater social coverage through the involvement of new target population groups, expanding the forms of citizen participation in budget decision-making, extending the principles of PB up to the intermunicipal cooperation, increasing the independence of municipalities in implementing PB projects, and strengthening the role of the federal center in promoting and coordinating this mechanism in the regions.