Watching participatory budgeting events or attending them produce different distributive outcomes

Purpose: The study examines the impact of presence, synchronicity of exposure and other variables on allocative decisions reached following a participatory budgeting event. Design/methodology/approach: The study analyzes the distributive decisions reached following a participatory budgeting event, which took place in an academic institution, and students were asked to determine the distribution of a portion of the student union budget. Some students viewed the event live (physically or remotely), while others watched it in delay. Findings: The main variable affecting allocative decisions was whether decision-makers were exposed to the event physically or remotely. There was a significant and large difference between allocation decisions of participants who were physically present at the event and those who were exposed to it remotely. Practical implications: The discussion elaborates on the implications of the findings for the importance of presence and media selection in public engagement events. Originality/value: Public engagement events are becoming widespread, with the Internet being a major tool in their administration. This study demonstrates that using the Internet to make such events accessible to the non-physically present can create significant changes in decisions reached by participants.