Transparência interna: cumprimento e punição no processo orçamentário municipal brasileiro
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Cruz, Tássia
Michener, Gregory
Andretti, Bernardo
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Much has been written about external transparency in the public sector. However, internal transparency - the inter and intragovernmental disclosure of information - is commonly overlooked as an object of study. Underestimating the importance of internal transparency is surprising, as it is a determining factor for the coordination of public policies and the quality of democratic governance. This paper analyzes the short-and-long-term costs of failing to comply with internal transparency requirements linked to municipal budgets in general and education spending in particular. In this study, we employ mixed methods, quantitatively analyzing the short-term incentives to comply with transparency requirements for education finance and, qualitatively, the future consequences of noncompliance. The results show that municipalities receiving the most voluntary transfers are more likely to meet internal transparency requirements. However, the costs of not fulfilling such requirements are low and easily reversible in the short-term. In the long-term, municipal officials who fail to comply with budget regulation, including internal transparency statutes, can face more severe consequences, such as the possibility of being barred from office. However, our results show relatively few instances of punishment, and, on average, punishments are only levied after ten years of legal processes. Overall, our results show how, as the lynchpin agents of budgetary accountability and enforcement for Brazil’s 5570 municipalities, the courts of audit (Tribunais de Contas) are important but ineffective.
Date Issued
2021-03-01
Date Acceptance
2020-09-12
Citation
Revista de Administração Pública, 2021, 55 (2), pp.357-377
ISSN
0034-7612
Publisher
FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
Start Page
357
End Page
377
Journal / Book Title
Revista de Administração Pública
Volume
55
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Author(s). This is an article published in open access under a Creative Commons license.
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-05-05