Sustainable Public Financial Governance: Exploring Students’ Perceptions of Indonesia’s Central and Local Government Budgets

Abstract

Public budgeting plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable development through accountable governance, efficient resource allocation, and strategic priority setting. In Indonesia, the implementation of the State Budget (Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Negara—APBN) and Regional Budgets (Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah—APBD) reflects the government’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable development. Understanding how educated young citizens perceive the implementation of public budgeting principles is important for strengthening sustainable public financial governance. This study explores students’ perceptions and arguments regarding the implementation of three key public budgeting principles—independence, efficiency, and priority—in Indonesia’s central and local government budgets during 2021–2025. An exploratory mixed-method approach with quantitative dominance was employed. Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to students enrolled in budgeting-related courses at an Indonesian higher education institution. Respondents assessed the implementation of these principles using a seven-point Likert scale based on publicly available information concerning APBN/APBD practices and provided written explanations for their assessments. Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative responses will undergo thematic analysis. This study is expected to provide preliminary insights into students’ judgments and the reasoning underlying their evaluations of public budgeting practices. The findings may enrich the discourse on sustainable public financial governance by highlighting the perspectives of educated young citizens in Indonesia.

Keywords:  sustainable public financial governance; public budgeting; central and local government budgets; students’ perceptions; exploratory study