Gestão fiscal, eficiência da gestão pública e desenvolvimento socioeconômico em municípios cearenses

Abstract

Public administration has the role in society to manage public assets in order to provide the population with better levels of social welfare, promoting greater socioeconomic development. A way to achieve better results in the public sector is through the efficient use of available resources, which must be aligned with the social interest. To reduce problems related to poor management and lack of control of governments in Brazil, there are legal provisions, with a focus on fiscal management, aimed at broadening public management control. Fiscal management provides greater levels of transparency, contributing to greater social control by citizens. Most municipalities of Ceará have their resources constituted, almost in their entirety, by government transfers. Thus, it is the responsibility of municipal governments to allocate these resources efficiently, obeying legislation and focusing on expanding the socioeconomic development of these municipalities. In this context, this study aims to investigate the influence of fiscal management and public management efficiency on the socioeconomic development of the municipalities of Ceará. This is a quantitative and descriptive study. The 184 municipalities of Ceará were analyzed during the period from 2007 to 2013. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method was used to calculate the efficiency of public management in three dimensions: (i) education; (ii) health; and (iii) employment and income. In addition, a general efficiency indicator was developed. The fiscal management construct was measured through the FIRJAN Fiscal Management Index (Índice FIRJAN de Gestão Fiscal – IFGF) and socioeconomic development was measured by the FIRJAN Municipal Development Index (Índice FIRJAN de Desenvolvimento Municipal – IFDM). The study used descriptive statistics and econometric models that made use of the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) methods with panel data. The results showed that fiscal management has a positive influence on the socioeconomic development of the municipalities of Ceará, indicating that a greater adherence to the Fiscal Responsibility Law (Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal – LRF) by the municipalities implies an increase in development. Also, it was observed that general efficiency and its three dimensions (education, health and employment and income) also had a positive effect on socioeconomic development, reinforcing the idea that municipalities with more efficient public management, results-oriented and focused on the offer of goods and services to the population, tends to present greater indicators of municipal development.