Are we All Touching the Same Camel?: Exploring a Model of Participation in Budgeting
View/ Open
Date
2005-06-01Author
Aimee L. Franklin
Carol Ebdon
Metadata
Show full item recordSee DOI for License
Abstract
Theory offers a vast quantity of normative prescriptions concerning citizen participation in budget decisions. Yet cities struggle with this activity and report unsatisfactory outcomes. Why does this occur? It may be because, similar to the parable of the blind men describing the different parts of the camel, the extant literature suggests so many variables but does not integrate what we know to see the whole picture, nor does it eliminate variables having little explanatory value and there has been limited systematic testing of hypotheses in this area. To manage the complexity caused by a multiplicity of variables, the authors test a causal model with four different factors (structure, participants, process, and mechanisms) thought to influence effective citizen participation outcomes on cases of two midwestern cities. In this limited application, the model shows promise for predictive validity.
Citation
Franklin, A. L., & Ebdon, C. (2005). Are we All Touching the Same Camel?: Exploring a Model of Participation in Budgeting. The American Review of Public Administration, 35(2), 168-185. doi: 10.1177/0275074005275621