Participatory budgeting in COVID-19 times: a perspective from Paraná and Portuguese municipalities

• Autor(a) principal: Maciel, Lucas R.
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Costa, Cláudia S., Catapan, Anderson
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/25771
• topic: Participatory budgeting; Local governments; Brazil; Portugal; Pandemic COVID-19

Purpose: The aim of this article is to explore the barriers imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic to Participatory Budgeting (PB), considering the perspective of Brazilian and Portuguese Local Public Administration. Theoretical framework: Recent literature points out that the barriers imposed on PB processes arising from the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic are justified by many leaders due to social distancing measures and the expansion of financial constraints. Design/methodology/approach: An online questionnaire was applied using a Likerttype scale to assess the perception of public officials, in Paraná and Portugal, about the barriers imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic to PB. Through a quantitative approach, data were presented and analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test of adherence. Findings: The survey contributors from the Portuguese municipalities indicated that the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the conduct of PB processes. The possible restrictive consequences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the realization of PB in the future are not clear, according to the responses obtained in the two contexts analyzed. Research, Practical & Social implications: Future studies may include the perspective of the participants in the process and the possible reduction in the amounts available for the execution of the PB due to the pandemic of COVID-19. Originality/value: COVID-19 alone cannot bring citizens to the periphery of public policy decisions. Difficulties prior to the pandemic, such as the absence of an online platform contributed to limiting the participatory space.