Gobernanza participativa y eficiencia distributiva en gobiernos parroquiales rurales

Budget management in rural parish governments faces structural constraints associated with weak institutionalization of participation, limited decision traceability, and low coherence between citizen prioritization and financial execution, which undermines distributive efficiency and territorial equity. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between participatory governance and distributive efficiency, determining the extent to which formalized participatory mechanisms influence public expenditure allocation and execution. A quantitative explanatory approach with a cross-sectional non-experimental design was adopted, using data derived from official reports, approved and executed budgets, and accountability documents. Descriptive statistics, Shapiro Wilk normality test, Cronbach alpha with a value of 0.89, Pearson correlation with r equal to 0.817 and p less than 0.001, multiple linear regression with R squared of 0.685, and LASSO regularization for predictor selection were applied. Results revealed a positive and statistically significant effect of participatory governance on distributive efficiency, indicating that higher levels of institutionalization and frequency of deliberative spaces are associated with lower expenditure concentration and greater coherence between prioritized and executed projects. Participatory variables demonstrated stronger explanatory power than structural factors such as population size or dependence on intergovernmental transfers, confirming that the institutional quality of participatory processes directly influences the rationality and equity of territorial budget allocation.