Local Budgeting and Public Participation: Contextual Predictors of State Laws Mandating Public Input

In: State and local government review: a journal of research and viewpoints on state and local government issues, Volume 43, Issue 2

Abstract

This paper examines the political, economic, and institutional variables associated with the presence of state laws that mandate the use of public input in local budgeting. The results show that political and institutional variables can help explain the presence of such laws, but the relationships between variables of interest shift depending on whether laws aimed at cities or counties are the focal point and on which types of public input methods are under consideration. The implications for both theories of public participation in budgeting and intergovernmental relations are discussed within. Adapted from the source document.