Banca de DEFESA: MATHEUS RAMALHO CANGUSSU

 Relationship between accountability and fiscal situation of Brazilian States

Accountability. Public Transparency. Fiscal Performance. Brazilian States. Public Finances. Fiscal Responsibility.

 Social Control.

Quality accountability is a fundamental pillar for the social control of public accounts, allowing society to monitor the fiscal performance of the State – an aspect of great relevance and collective impact. Given this premise, this study aims to analyze which factors are relevant in the relationship between accountability and the fiscal situation of Brazilian states. From this perspective, the defined research question seeks to understand which factors of the fiscal situation of Brazilian states are empirically correlated with the level of accountability they present. Studying the relationship between accountability and the fiscal situation of Brazilian states is crucial to understanding how transparency and control mechanisms relate to the fiscal decisions of public managers, frequently shaped by electoral incentives and private interests. From the perspective of Public Choice Theory, which analyzes politics as a market where agents (governments and voters) seek to maximize their own interests, practices of fiscal opportunism, such as the generation of deficits and the accumulation of debt, may suggest low accountability, since the political costs of these actions are reduced in the absence of effective scrutiny. To investigate this correlation, data were collected on accountability and public transparency, fiscal performance (measured by personnel expenses, indebtedness, and payment capacity), and quality of life (Basic Education Development Index, Human Development Index, and Illiteracy Rate). The data were processed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The study concluded that fiscal health, particularly the containment of current personnel expenses and the maintenance of a solid payment capacity, are important predictors of higher quality accountability. This study contributes to the understanding of how the underlying fiscal performance of federative entities influences their willingness to be accountable to society, offering empirical evidence on the determinants of effective social control in Brazilian federalism.