Who implements participatory budgeting and who do not? Comparison of municipalities in Wielkopolska province in terms of wealth and level of social activism

Abstract

Participatory budgeting is a citizens’ participation in local governance. The core aspect of participation is the dialogue between local authorities and citizens concerning the redistribution of public resources, although redistribution or allocation is just one of the functions, that local government budgets provide. Participatory budgeting has been implemented in Poland last years. They are usually analyzed as case studies. In the presented analysis other approach is taken. The focus was not so much on the implementation itself, but on the comparison of local governments in the Wielkopolska region, which implemented against those which did not. The questions of the study concerned: (1) whether there was a significant difference in the wealth of the municipalities, and (2) whether there was a significant difference in the level of social activity, between municipalities that implemented participatory budgeting and those which did not. The results of the analyzes revealed no statistically significant difference between the two categories of municipalities in terms of the wealth of the municipalities. However, the significant difference was identified, between the municipalities in terms of the level of social activity. The municipalities implementing participatory budgets are characterized by higher level of social activity. Thus, participatory budgeting in the Wielkopolska province, can therefore be regarded as a mean of supporting activity in those municipalities where citizens are already active.