(Slightly) different objectives, but similar results?: Party ideology and participatory institutions

Abstract

Do parties matter for policies? This crucial question has received considerable attention regarding central policy areas, like economic or social policies, but quite less regarding the development of participation policies. In a context where these policies have become quite widespread, the crucial question is not whether parties differentiate on doing or not some participation policies, but which policies they develop: Do different party ideologies result in the use of alternative participatory practices? We empirically analyze the participatory institutions existing in Spanish municipalities larger than 1000 inhabitants of two of the largest regions in the country around 2020, in a context where different party policies are likely to emerge. Our analyses cover 608 participatory institutions, including governing parties of center-right, center-left, and left ideology. Results show that, once we control for structural factors, differences among municipalities governed by the three party families are small, concentrated on objectives (aiming at different policy goals) and on one relevant feature: the decisiveness of the proposals made, which is larger where the radical left governs.