A recent article co-authored by Professor Phil Joyce has been recognized with the American Society for Public Administration’s (ASPA) 2024 Democracy and Social Justice Article of the Year award for its contributions to the field of social equity budgeting. The article, “A Polyphonic Debate on Social Equity Budgeting,” brings together multiple international scholars and explores how governments can integrate equity considerations into their budgeting processes.
Joyce, a leading expert in public budgeting, emphasizes that while some governments have embraced social equity budgeting, others have yet to incorporate these principles. “Those that have are tending to look at government performance not just at an aggregate level, but asking questions about how budget allocations affect different parts of the community, (women, BIPOC, etc.),” he explained.
The article builds on decades of performance budgeting reforms, extending efforts that have been evolving for more than 60 years. Joyce believes that refining these tools to better address social equity concerns requires greater participation from governments that have yet to take such steps. Joyce emphasized that a critical step toward advancing social equity budgeting is encouraging more governments that have yet to adopt these practices to start integrating them. However, he acknowledged that political polarization has made such efforts increasingly difficult.
The collaborative nature of the research was a key factor in the success of the article, said Joyce, who credits co-author Bruce McDonald of Old Dominion University with ensuring that the various contributions complemented one another.
While appreciative of the recognition, Joyce emphasizes that the real impact lies ahead. “Awards are nice, of course, but the far more important thing, in my mind, is that this shines a light on ways in which governments can think about the budget in ways that promote social equity,” he said. He hopes that the paper will inspire more scholars to pursue in-depth research on the topic and encourage broader adoption of social equity budgeting in public finance.