ABSTRACT
One explanation for the increasing popularity of participatory budgeting can be found by analysing the structural or functional changes that, at a macro-sociological level, could favour its emergence. We have already seen that the explanation cannot be based on general socioeconomic factors. Should we therefore look at institutional factors, such as the construction of the European Union, which would encourage an overall convergence between local European democratic systems and, in particular, the development of a participatory trend?
