A Solvência das Administrações Públicas Municipais Cearenses no período 2002-2008

Abstract

Considering that the intertemporal budget constraint of the government is fulfilled, this work examines the long-run solvency of the public accounts of the municipalities of Ceara following Hamilton and Flavin (1986), Levin et al. (2002) and Im, Pesaran, and Shin (2003). If an administration does not use a Ponzi game it is considered solvent if the budget deficit has a stationary path. As an empirical exercise, two unit root tests in panel are used and the period of analysis covers the years 2002 to 2008. It appears that the municipalities governiments in Ceara are solvents, although an analysis for eight macro-regions has indicated that in two of them the fiscal policy is unsustainable. Finally, the condition of insolvency does not seem to be determined by economy size, since the solvency appears to be associated with political affinity between the municipalities and the larger spheres of government.