Participatory budgeting in covid-19 times: a perspective from Paraná and portuguese municipalities

Abstract

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 Likert-type 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.

Incomes, Gaps and Well-Being: an Exploration of Direct Tax Income Statements Before and During Covid-19 Through the Comparability Interval

“…al., (2022), then according to Mertens, & Ravn (2013) it is emphasized that the tax shocks are large and that it is important to distinguish between different types of taxes when (1984), Akerlof (1978), Shephard & Blundell (2012), (Benedek et al, (2022), and Bird & Zolt (2005) it is emphasized that (PIT) is one of the main sources of income in developed economies, while in developing and underdeveloped economies it has a limited role both in terms of income and in terms of redistribution, affecting the well-being of the country. Regarding the impact of Covid-19 on (PIT) according to Feria & Maffini (2021), Maciel et al, (2022), andArwani et al, (2022) the impact of accelerating the digitization of the tax system (CIT, and PIT) and the work is highlighted by distance, concluding that part of the work can be continued remotely even after the pandemic, so the challenges of adapting tax systems to a digitized economy are not over, in fact, they have just begun. A similar contribution regarding gaps and welfare from (PIT) has been given by Zhang (2017), Joumard, et al, (2012), and Attinasi et al, (2011 where it is emphasized that the higher progressivity of personal income tax (PIT) leads to lower production volatility.…”

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“…The main subject of this study is the specifics of the interaction between state and local budgets in the Republic of Kazakhstan, their issues brought to light in responding to the pandemic and possible ways to overcome them. Many countries affected by COVID-19 have faced similar problems such as the growth of budget deficits at all levels, the growth of external debt, the reduction of tax revenues, the rapid redistribution of financial resources and responsibilities between the state and local levels, as noted in by many researchers (Grossi et Maciel et al 2021). The Republic of Kazakhstan managed to cope with the economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but a number of issues in the functioning of budgetary relations require careful systematic work.…”

The cost of participation: An analysis of the financial dimensions of participatory budgets in Portugal

“…Bogo (2020) recently proposed the emergence of a fourth stage characterized by three intertwined factors: the dissemination of PBs that target young people; the diffusion of PBs in northern regions of Portugal; and the initiation of PBs at both regional and national levels. This latter stage was abruptly interrupted by the constraints derived from the covid‐19 pandemic though (see Dias, Enríquez, et al, 2021; Falanga, 2020; and Maciel et al, 2022), with more than 50% of local PBs being either canceled or postponed (Dias, Cardita, et al, 2021).…”