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Does Participatory Budgeting have an Effect on the Quality of Public Services? The Case of Peru’s Water and Sanitation Sector

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Improving Access and Quality of Public Services in Latin America

Part of the book series: Latin American Political Economy ((LAPE))

Abstract

This chapter presents a discussion of the effects of participatory budgeting (PB) on coverage and quality of public services in Peru. Using econometric techniques, the authors analyze the link from PB to coverage and water service quality indicators, showing that there is no evidence of a positive relationship. In effect, they do not find a statistically significant relation between PB and water and sanitation coverage and service quality indicators (mainly water continuity), regardless of whether they are measured in levels or in changes. These results are complemented and reinforced with a qualitative analysis based on interviews with relevant actors in the PB process and the water sector.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Three sub-national government levels exist in Peru: regional governments (23), provincial municipalities (169), and district municipalities (1833).

  2. 2.

    Of course, PB is just one of several mechanisms that may enhance accountability for public services at the local level. Other mechanisms, more geared toward accountability for service quality, include participation of user representatives in the board of service companies, and monitoring of service quality by consumer protection groups.

  3. 3.

    The Word Bank (2011) results on investment composition were based on the analysis of all sub-national governments (638) with available information on PB in the year 2007, comparing municipalities with low and high PB intensity. However, these results are based on only one-year observations and without a control group.

  4. 4.

    Ley Marco del Presupuesto Participativo. Capítulo I: Disposiciones Generales.

  5. 5.

    World Bank (2011), p. 3.

  6. 6.

    This percentage is estimated using our calculations and corresponds only to the sample used in this study.

  7. 7.

    Article 6 of the implementing regulation states that authorities responsible for the budget report the percentage of the government entity’s investment budget that corresponds to the PB (D.S. 142-2009-EF, Ley Marco del Presupuesto Participativo).

  8. 8.

    The Technical Team consists of professionals and technicians from the regional and local governments, and professionals from civil society experienced in planning and budgeting who were hired as consultants.

  9. 9.

    This is exceptional, but, for instance, Cerro Verde Mining Company has invested 300 million soles in the Water Treatment Plant for Arequipa region.

  10. 10.

    All the investment taken into account comes from the local level because our database does not include information for the regional and national levels.

  11. 11.

    For a further discussion on the identification strategy, issues of exogeneity, and other technical details, see Jaramillo and Alcázar (2013).

  12. 12.

    Wright (2011) presents evidence from Peruvian municipalities of “particularistic exchanges” driving the political process.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Group of Analysis for Development—GRADE, Lima, Peru

    Miguel Jaramillo & Lorena Alcázar

Authors
  1. Miguel Jaramillo
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  2. Lorena Alcázar
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de los Andes, Colombia & Center for Global Development, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Guillermo Perry

  2. Global Development Network, New Delhi, India

    Ramona Angelescu Naqvi

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Jaramillo, M., Alcázar, L. (2017). Does Participatory Budgeting have an Effect on the Quality of Public Services? The Case of Peru’s Water and Sanitation Sector. In: Perry, G., Angelescu Naqvi, R. (eds) Improving Access and Quality of Public Services in Latin America. Latin American Political Economy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59344-3_4

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