The Effect of Participatory Budgeting

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The Effect of Participatory Budgeting THE EFFECT OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING ON THE PROVISIONING PROCESS A DISSERTATION IN Economics and Political Science Presented to the Faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by GEORGE ROBERT BATEMAN, JR. B.A., University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1979 B.S., University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2000 M.S., University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2004 M.A., University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2012 Kansas City, Missouri 2018 © 2018 GEORGE ROBERT BATEMAN, JR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE EFFECT OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING ON THE PROVISIONING PROCESS George Robert Bateman Jr., Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2018 ABSTRACT The hypothesis of this dissertation is that as more of us become actively engaged in deliberations concerning local economic/political issues, the happier, more tolerant, and more understanding we can become. This is a philosophical dissertation because PB’s potential benefits are researched by examining the works of relevant American social philosophers who wrote about these benefits. The research uses scientific methodology to examine social policy, as advocated by John Dewey. Foster’s theory of institutional adjustment explains what is needed for PB to realize its potential benefits. Dewey’s insight on internal deliberation explains how individuals can change to think of themselves as part of the community, to meet one of Foster’s three principles of change. The Iroquois Confederation is an example of an egalitarian democratic society with an oral constitution. The earliest settlers in New England are reviewed to learn about their Congregationalist policy, which empowered each church congregation to govern themselves. Next, Thomas Jefferson’s motivation for his ward system proposal seems to have been directed toward increasing public happiness though public participation. Then, three transcendentalist writers are analyzed. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and iii Walt Whitman advocated the power of self-reflection to teach people that they have unlimited potential, the importance of using one’s voice and the importance of equality. Next is consideration of the pragmatic political thought of John Dewey and of C. Wright Mills. Dewey believed that improving the methods of public communication was a key to improving democracy, which should also help people become more tolerant. Mills, like Dewey, believed that small publics could help individuals as well as the community. The vision of participation of the Port Huron Statement inspired social movements in the 1960s. Alfred Schutz studied how people can come to understand each other through face- to-face communication. And finally, Robert Putnam’s social capital is explored to learn why people get more done together than separately. Finally, two suggestions are made for PB in NYC, to test the hypothesis of this dissertation: First, improving public deliberation within PB, and second, suggesting PB reach out to additional social justice organizations. This could help PB grow, which should help the participants as well as our political system. iv APPROVAL PAGE The faculty listed below, appointed by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, have examined a dissertation titled “The Effect of Participatory Budgeting on the Provisioning Process,” presented by George Robert Bateman, Jr., candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, and certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. Supervisory Committee Mathew Forstater, Ph.D., Committee Chair Department of Economics Max J. Skidmore, Ph.D. Department of Political Science James I. Sturgeon, Ph.D. Department of Economics Linwood F. Tauheed, Ph.D. Department of Economics Douglas Bowles, Ph.D. Social Science Consortium v CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1 Why Is this Study Important? ........................................................................2 What is PB? ...................................................................................................6 History ..................................................................................................7 How It Works .......................................................................................7 Civil Society .......................................................................................10 Deliberation in the PB Process ...........................................................12 How Can PB Facilitate Change? .................................................................15 Foster’s Theory of Institutional Adjustment .......................................15 Dewey’s Insights on Internal Deliberation .........................................19 Opinion Change in PB ........................................................................20 Arguments against PB .................................................................................22 Elected Officials Are Better Qualified ...............................................22 Local Management Should Be Left to Experts ...................................25 PB is Too Time Consuming ...............................................................29 Problem Statement and Hypothesis .............................................................30 Methods ..............................................................................................31 Outline ................................................................................................36 2. GOVERNING PRACTICES PRIOR TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY WHICH COULD BE MORE FULLY INCORPORATED INTO THE DESIGN OF THE PB PROCESS ....................................................................................................38 vi The Ward System Proposal and Its Antecedents .........................................39 Iroquois Indians ..................................................................................41 Earliest New England Town Hall Meetings .......................................44 Jefferson’s Ward System Proposal .....................................................50 Transcendentalism .......................................................................................54 Ralph Waldo Emerson ........................................................................55 Henry David Thoreau .........................................................................59 Walt Whitman .....................................................................................64 Conclusion ...................................................................................................71 3. GOVERNING PRACTICES IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY WHICH COULD BE MORE FULLY INCORPORATED INTO THE DESIGN OF THE PB PROCESS ...................................................................................................................72 Pragmatic Political Thought ........................................................................73 Political Philosophy of John Dewey ...................................................74 Modern Society of C. Wright Mills ....................................................82 The Port Huron Statement ..................................................................92 Ethical Democracy of Alfred Schutz ...........................................................98 The Social Capital of Robert Putnam ........................................................105 History of Social Capital ..................................................................106 Capital Debate Controversy of Social Capital ..................................108 Putnam’s Social Capital ....................................................................110 4. HISTORY OF PB .......................................................................................................115 Conditions in Brazil that Led to the Invention of PB ................................116 PB in Porto Alegre .....................................................................................120 vii PB’s Effect on Civil Society in Brazil .......................................................126 The Design of PB as It Travels the Globe .................................................135 PB in the United States ..............................................................................142 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .....................................................145 Conditions for Public Deliberations ..........................................................151 Procedures .........................................................................................153 Disagreement ....................................................................................155 Leaders ..............................................................................................156 Stakes ................................................................................................156 Equity ................................................................................................157 Recommendations ......................................................................................162 Current State of Deliberations in PBNYC ........................................164 Increased Training ............................................................................166
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