Jaramillo, Miguel & Lorena Alcázar (2017). Does participatory budgeting have an effect on the quality of public services? The case of Perú´s water and sanitation sector. En Guillermo Perry y Ramona Angelescu Naqvi (Eds). Improving access and quality of public services in Latin America: To Govern and To Serve (pp. 105-136). New York: Palgrave.

This chapter presents a discussion of the effects of participatory budgeting (PB) on coverage and quality of public services in Peru. Using econometric techniques, the authors analyze the link from PB to coverage and water service quality indicators, showing that there is no evidence of a positive relationship. In effect, they do not find a statistically significant relation between PB and water and sanitation coverage and service quality indicators (mainly water continuity), regardless of whether they are measured in levels or in changes. These results are complemented and reinforced with a qualitative analysis based on interviews with relevant actors in the PB process and the water sector.