Gestão fiscal das capitais nordestinas: uma análise do Índice FIRJAN de Gestão Fiscal - IFGF (2018-2022)

Abstract

Fiscal management is seen as a catalyst for more effective public administration, capable of promoting more solid socioeconomic development. The establishment of guidelines and regulations for public financial administration plays a crucial role in controlling government spending and ensuring sustainable public debt management. In the fiscal management of municipalities, especially with regard to the technical and operational capacity of the bodies responsible for financial administration, there are still challenges to be faced. Agency Theory, which explores the relationship between agents (public managers) and principals (citizens), provides a theoretical basis for understanding the challenges and control mechanisms in public administration. This investigation aims to analyze fiscal management in the northeastern capitals of Brazil from 2018 to 2022, using the FIRJAN Fiscal Management Index (IFGF) as the main assessment tool. Data were extracted from the FIRJAN (IFGF) website. The results revealed that the IFGF average presented a good management rating for the majority of capitals in the Northeast. Salvador was the capital that presented the best fiscal management indexes, while Natal had the lowest overall index. A connection was also noticed between the pandemic, which began in 2020, and the investment rates of the municipalities, except for Teresina, which showed a decline in its score. The study contributes to research related to the fiscal management of municipalities, as it presents and analyzes the situation of fiscal management focused on the Northeast region, disseminating data and results on the public administration capacity of the capitals in this area. Furthermore, it promotes transparency by making data available to the population about the quality of results obtained by public managers.