Participatory budgeting in rural areas of Kazakhstan: opportunities, limitations and directions of development

In recent years, partisan budgeting has been considered as an effective tool for strengthening civic participation, transparency of the budget process, and improving the effectiveness of local self-government. This approach is especially relevant for rural areas, where limited resources are combined with a high need for the population to influence the allocation of the state budget.

The goal is to identify opportunities, regulation and prospects for the use of mechanisms for initiative planning of budget operations in rural areas of Kazakhstan, as well as to substantiate recommendations for their institutionalization and adaptation taking into account the specifics of the rural environment.

Methods - a comprehensive methodological approach, content analysis of regulatory documents (including the Budget code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, resolutions), comparative assessment of regional data on projects "public participation budget" for 2023-2024, repeated analysis of the reporting of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as a case method of successful practices were used. In the materials of Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Ecuador and Bangladesh, international examples of the implementation of the mechanism for attracting budget funds in rural areas were studied.

Results - the results of the study show that the participation of rural residents in the management of public finances in rural settlements is limited by a number of factors: institutional weakness, constraint on the financial base, quantitative inequality, as well as a low level of legal and project literacy in the local area. In addition, in the presence of minimal conditions, the constant interest of the population in the means of participation and the growth potential of activity is noted.

Conclusions - based on generalized experience, the authors proposed an adapted model of rural participatory budgeting, including simplified procedures, a digital platform, employee training and incentive co-financing. Structuring and modernizing such a paradigm will be the basis for sustainable development of rural areas and improving the effectiveness of differentiation of public assets.

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