Study goals
The objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of the population’s socioeconomic profile, represented by the HDI, on the elaboration of the participatory budget in the sub-prefectures of São Paulo, considering the number of proposals presented between 2021 and 2025.
Relevance / originality
This paper analyses participatory budgeting in São Paulo, Brazil's largest city, which has been little discussed in the literature, highlighting its ability to capture public demands. It contributes to understanding the relationship between socioeconomic profile and popular participation in this context.
Methodology / approach
The methodology uses a quantitative approach, analysing secondary data from the São Paulo City Hall website. Subprefectures were grouped by HDI-M using cluster analysis, and the impact on the number of submitted proposals from 2021 to 2025 was assessed using ANOVA.
Main results
The results show that the HDI-M does not fully explain the number of proposals in the participatory budget. Differences among subprefectures were observed, but not directly correlated with socioeconomic status, indicating the need to explore other factors to understand popular participation.
Theoretical / methodological contributions
The study shows that the HDI-M does not fully explain participation in participatory budgeting, suggesting the need to incorporate variables such as social movements and qualitative analysis of proposals to better understand the factors that influence popular participation.
Social / management contributions
Socially, the work highlights the role of participatory budgeting in population inclusion and engagement. For management, it offers insights into the relationship between socioeconomic profile and participation, aiding in the formulation of more effective public policies aligned with local demands.