The Public and Decision-making Process: Who and Why Needs Citizen Participation?

In: Voprosy ėkonomiki: ežemesjačnyj žurnal, Heft 6, S. 63-80

Abstract

The participation of the public in the decision-making and policy discussion is expected to allow the officials to re-valuate the proposed decisions, save money on their implementation and restore public trust in government. However, from the point of view of bureaucrats, direct participation is often unproductive: you are required to spend work time and energy on discussions with non-experts and have no means to predict the effectiveness and efficiency of these debates. The article considers theories and empirical studies that can explain a new fashion trend of openness and transparency in world's public policy and problems with its implementation. The article also evaluates the applicability of republican tradition to modern policy-making and analyzes alternative mode of public involvement. Keywords : public policy, rule-making, open government, transparency, public participation.