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Paper short abstract:

Does the participation of citizens matter in steering public expenditures towards human development? This study on public participation in local government processes in the Philippines provides quantitative evidence that bolsters the advocacy for open governance. The relationship between participation and budget outcomes, however, is not always straightforward and clear.

Paper long abstract:

Advocates assert that opening government processes to the participation of citizens improves governance and service delivery, and ultimately help bring forth greater prosperity for all. One could even argue that the ability to participate in the affairs of one's government--particularly in the allocation of scarce public resources--is an essential element to the achievement of human development.

While qualitative evidence are abundant on the exemplars of participatory governance and the results they brought to citizens, the quantitative literature is inconclusive at best, and at worst proves the lack of a causal relationship between participation and desired governance and development outcomes. This study--submitted by the author as his thesis for his Master of Development Economics--contributes to the body of empirical evidence showing that participatory governance has generally positive, though mixed, effects on public financial management. In particular, this study investigates the effects of the participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in local government units’ (LGUs) development councils, which is mandated by the Local Government Code in the Philippines.

Using panel regression, the study finds that CSO participation—particularly its more substantial forms like submission of action plans to follow through on council discussions and provision of technical support to the council—has a positive effect on increasing expenditures in the aggregate and on key sectors that promote development: education, healthcare, social services, and infrastructure. However, CSO participation is also associated with constrained fiscal resources, particularly LGU dependence on national transfers. Moreover, the effects of CSO participation on local budget outcomes are not always straightforward: these are significantly dependent on context and some effects may likely be nonlinear.

Though this study does not claim to establish causality, it nevertheless affirms the policy direction to broaden and deepen participatory governance. Nevertheless, reforms are needed to produce more substantive metrics of CSO and citizen participation, to understand and improve the enabling environment for participation, and to invest in studies that establish the elusive impacts of participatory governance especially on human development.

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Paper short abstract:

The presentation discusses the implementation of corporate sustainability reporting, highlighting its role in managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects of businesses. It further explores the impact of diverse sustainability reporting tools on the overall state of transparency and accountability using the example of empirical data on the Bulgarian economy.

Paper long abstract:

Corporate Sustainability Reporting

(Empirical Insights from Bulgaria and the EU on the Contribution of Corporate Sustainability Reporting to Increasing Transparency and Public Accountability)

Keywords: corporate sustainability reporting, transparency, accountability, sustainable development

by Rumiana Jeleva, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IPS-BAS)

Research context and conceptualisation: The sustainability of societal development is a cardinal issue in the modern and especially in the late modern era. New risks in the context of globalisation and the increasing complexity of society give new urgency to the need for sustainable development. Society is increasingly dependent on complex technological systems that create potential risks. There is a growing need for humanity to manage and minimise risks. Sustainable development is a concept of risk management. Sustainable development sociology is a theoretical perspective for conceptualizing risk management. The sociology of sustainable societal development is understood as an interdisciplinary subject area which, with the help of correctly applied sociological tools, realizes a significant added value for understanding, theoretical conceptualization and practical research of sustainable development and for the application of sustainable behavior models in different spheres of societal life. A specific focus is the economic sphere, the activities and reporting of corporate sustainability by business companies in the EU and Bulgaria.

Methodology and analysis: The presentation discusses the importance and implementation of corporate sustainability reporting (also known as non-financial reporting), highlighting its role in managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects of businesses. To this end, the presentation first outlines the drivers of sustainability within the disciplinary framework of the sociology of sustainable development and illuminates specific tools for measuring sustainability based on institutional analysis, document review, and review of specialized literature. Second, the text presents empirical data and information based on quantitative and qualitative research conducted in Bulgaria in 2023 on the attitudes of managers in diversified economic activities to use sustainability reporting tools. These frameworks (standards on sustainability) and initiatives reflect the growing importance of non-financial reporting in Europe as companies face increasing pressure to disclose their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance to investors, regulators and other stakeholders.

Findings and conclusion: The research findings and main conclusions highlight the contribution of corporate sustainability reporting to transparency, regulation and corporate social responsibility, as well as its impact on reducing the shadow economy by promoting legal and ethical business conduct. At the same time, the diversity of standards respectively frameworks is indicative of the lack of a uniform reporting practice even in Europe, making it difficult to validate the corporate sustainability reporting procedure.