The Interplay of Habitus and Capital in the Resource Distribution of Participatory Budgeting in a Sri Lankan Local Government

This study, focusing on Bourdieu's relational approach, explores how the interplay of habitus and capital shapes the resource distribution within the Participatory Budgeting (PB) process in a Sri Lankan local government. Through an analysis of the functions of political and administrative leaders, the study illustrates how these actors deliberately exploit various forms of capital and habitus during proposal identification, selection, and implementation phases. This qualitative case study employs semi-structured interviews, informal discussions, and document analysis. The data was gathered over six months, from late 2023 to early 2024. The study's findings demonstrate that political elites frequently use the PB process to sustain their power and domination in distributing resources. They prioritise symbolic, social, and economic capital, wherein citizen engagement transforms into a symbolic movement. This PB approach engenders clientelism in resource allocation, subverting PB democratic values. In contrast, administrative leadership is generally characterised by a professional habitus that presumes transparency and adherence to compliance with regulations over participatory decision-making procedures. Thus, PB is likely to exhibit a conservative and centralised decision-making approach. This study, therefore, urges policymakers to adopt a hybrid approach that integrates the resource mobilisation capabilities of political actors with the administrators' focus on transparency and accountability, which could considerably improve PB practices. Further, the findings contribute to understanding how accounting practices, such as PB, are shaped and impacted by power dynamics, social structures, informal practices and individuals outside the accounting profession.