Eficiência dos municípios com relação aos gastos públicos em educação e cultura na microrregião de Varginha/MG

Abstract

Studies on the efficiency of the public sector have been increasingly present in academic work. The concepts related to the efficiency of public spending stand out in this scenario, since they refer to approaches about the correct allocation of public resources and the economic and social development of society. Given the importance and representativeness of the national scenario of public spending, this paper proposes to evaluate the level of efficiency of public expenditure in the municipalities of Varginha microregion. The methodology used is stochastic frontier analysis. The following variables were used as analysis variables: Aggregate Performance Indicator (DSP) of Education and Culture, Public Expenditure on Education and Culture, and the proportion of these expenditures in relation to total expenditure of municipalities, number of inhabitants, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) Per capita, rate of urbanization, and personnel expenses. Based on the analyzes, it was observed, by standard deviations, that the DSP values of each municipality do not differ from the average of the microregion. The stochastic frontier model showed that the representative variable of absolute expenditure and GDP negatively influence DSP. However, the population variables, the number of inhabitants and the urbanization rate of the municipalities, presented a directly proportional result. The results show that municipal expenditures are not necessarily directed towards obtaining the best results, that is, they are not being applied efficiently. It is hoped that the study carried out will allow the improvement in the conduct of the application of public resources by the municipal managers.