Transparency of local policy-making and participatory budgeting in North Macedonia and Slovakia

Abstract

Participatory budgeting (PB) can have many effects including greater legitimacy of investment decisions due to the inclusion of citizens in determining investment priorities. This leads to greater continuous participation, engagement, education and increased civic responsibility, thus achieving greater transparency in public expenditure, while encouraging accountability and responsibility of politicians. It serves as an instrument for social innovation and has positive effects on the quality of deliberation, democracy, and social capital. This study is conducting pilot research of an international project, and it focuses on the possible effects in transparency in public policy at the local level. The paper aims to explore the influence of participatory budgeting on fiscal transparency and citizens’ participation in financial decision-making among the local governments in North Macedonia and Slovakia. The findings indicate that local budget transparency is positively associated with sustainability of the PB process for both countries, furthermore the higher the level of transparency in the 2018 period, the higher the probability that PB would still be ongoing in 2022 in both countries.