A Lei de responsabilidade fiscal e as finanças públicas: efeitos e consequências sobre os municípios alagoanos (2000 a 2010)

Abstract

This work studies the effect of the Fiscal Responsibility Law (FRL) on public finances of municipalities Alagoas, since from the same edition, in 2000, the municipalities are trying to adapt to the new rules laid down by the Supplementary Law. In this study, the LRF was treated as a new framework for public finance in Brazil, and its deployment part of a roader process of recasting the role of the state in the economic system, begun in the 1980s and intensified in the 1990s, especially after the implementation of the Real Plan in 1994, from which time the federal government sought to extend its control over the public finances of subnational governments. Accordingly, the LRF can be considered one of the main mechanisms used for this purpose. The results obtained after fiscal year 2000 confirm the success of the LRF to promote the framework for subnational fiscal adjustment required by the federal government. Such governments, because they are more susceptible to the rigors of LRF, sought fiscal balance more forceful. In this context, the aim of this study was to analyze whether municipalities alagoanos are complying with the limits imposed by the LRF, in relation to the implementation of Personnel Costs (DP) and control of Net Consolidated Debt (DCL), ensuring fiscal balance public accounts from 2000 to 2010. The statistical results indicate that these municipalities are meeting these limits, however it was found that this condition does not guarantee a consistent fiscal balance and long term. It was found also that the share of current spending and especially personnel costs in total expenditure increased over this period, while the relative share of public investment was reduced. The LRF little altered condition of dependence of municipalities alagoanos by funds from intergovernmental transfers. The conclusions of this study indicate that close to the concept of fiscal responsibility needs to be expanded beyond mere balance of public accounts, since only such a condition does not guarantee that the public sector is allocating and distributing resources efficiently.