The Policy Effects of Participation: Cherry-Picking among Local Policy Proposals

Participatory processes developed at the local level have received considerable attention. Surprisingly though, one of their potential main effects – their impact on public policies – has been the object of scant systematic research. While some of these participatory processes have only a loose connection to the policy process, even amongst those that are more policy oriented the general impression is that they have only limited impact on final policies. One of the possibilities is that politicians and officials cherry-pick from amongst the proposals emerging from these participatory processes, adopting only those more favorable to their own interests. The goal of the paper is twofold. First, we offer a theoretical model that aims to explain both the types of policies and the types of participatory processes that are more likely to be excluded as a result of a cherry-picking orientation. Second, we present a preliminary test of the model drawing on a diverse set of policy proposals emerging from a range of participatory processes developed in 3 Spanish regions.