Does diversity matter? An experimental study of the effects of participation mechanisms on perceived legitimacy of bureaucratic rulemaking

It is a fundamental assumption that stakeholder involvement enhances bureaucratic rulemaking legitimacy (Binderkrantz et al., 2021; Braun & Busuioc, 2020; Bunea, 2018; Bunea & Nørbech, 2022; Fung, 2006; Rasmussen & Reher, 2022). Following this assumption, governments design participation mechanisms that allow not only expert administrators and professional stakeholders’ input but are also open to citizens’ participation. To illustrate, the European Union – a political system facing grave legitimacy and democratic deficit issues – has recently initiated European citizens’ panels to give citizens a greater role in shaping the Union’s future policies. However, while this theoretical assumption is long-established and has led to the increasing reliance of bureaucracies on diverse stakeholder engagement mechanisms in rulemaking, we know little about the effects of participation mechanisms on the citizens’ perceived legitimacy of bureaucratic rulemaking. Do democratic merits of bureaucratic rulemaking increase the legitimacy of regulators in the eyes of citizens? Or, on the contrary, do citizens attribute more legitimacy to bureaucratic rules that are generated by expert administrators drawing on their bureaucratic competence and in consultation with professional stakeholders that hold relevant expertise? In this study, we put this principal theoretical assumption and rising bureaucratic practice to a rigorous empirical test, in addition to proposing novel theoretical elaborations. First, in line with the core theoretical claims in the literature, we expect that designing participatory forums that are more inclusive and representative on the participant dimension enhance the legitimacy of regulatory rules (Fung, 2006). Second, we propose that the legitimacy of bureaucratic rulemaking depends not only on who participates, but also on the authority basis each stakeholder reputably exercises to shape bureaucratic rule. We draw on a cross-country population-based survey experiment to study citizens’ legitimacy perceptions about rules introduced by EU regulatory agencies operating in different policy domains. Employing a between-subjects survey experiment with a 4x4 factorial design with open-ended questions, participants were randomly assigned to vignettes that vary in terms of participation mechanisms: who participates (expert administrators/ elected representatives/professional stakeholders/citizens) and authority claims they make to influence rules (bureaucratic competence, political, expertise, democratic representation). We empirically test whether and under what conditions diverse stakeholder engagement mechanisms enhance citizens’ perceived legitimacy of bureaucratic rulemaking. In doing so, we add to the literatures on institutional design, interest representation and citizen participation by addressing an issue that is at the very heart of democratic governance.