The Causes of Fiscal Transparency: Evidence in the Brazilian States

Abstract

The transparency of governments to their citizens is seen as a necessary factor in democratic accountability and, consequently, in the consolidation of democracy. Although the importance of transparency in government is often highlighted, its causes are still unknown, especially in the Brazilian context. Following the trend of international empirical research, this exploratory study investigates the relationships between three sets of variables (current and past fiscal variables, socioeconomic variables and political variables) and fiscal transparency in the Brazilian subnational context. To identify the relationship between fiscal, socioeconomic and political variables and fiscal transparency, the multiple linear regression technique was used. Prior to conducting the regression using the method of ordinary least squares, factor analysis was used, aiming to group the fiscal and socioeconomic variables into factors not only to reduce their quantity but also to eliminate their multicollinearity problems. Political variables, due to their qualitative nature, remained in their original form. The factor analysis sorted the variables into two groups: fiscal and socioeconomic factors. Because multiple regression allows only for the evaluation of the relationship between the parties included in the sample and the reference party, an F test was used to assess differences in the level of transparency among political parties. The results indicated that fiscal and socioeconomic variables explain the transparency levels of the Brazilian States. However, the political variables were not significant, indicating that the disclosure of fiscal information in Brazil seems not to be influenced by political ideologies. Furthermore, it is evident that the lack of a regulatory model of transparency in the budget process leads States to disclose a great deal of information about budget execution. Finally, the findings indicate that as an instrument for democratic consolidation, fiscal transparency remains incipient in Brazil.

The influence of internal and external rewards on people’s behavior regarding tax evasion practices in Brazil

“…Among the individuals who answered "yes, " the proportion of dishonest ones was 62.1%, while for those who answered "no, " the proportion was 22.1%; for "don't know" it was 33.3%. These results are consistent with previous findings (Ellis & Fender, 2003;Feld & Frey, 2007;Pickhardt & Prinz, 2014;Zuccolotto & Teixeira, 2014). Such behavior is reflected in dishonesty according to the trust generated in the individual through the actions of the institutions (Kogler et al, 2013).…”

“…Ellis and Fender (2003) analyzed the corruption and transparency variables with an emphasis on the government's behavior and found that the higher a country's level of fiscal transparency, the lower the percentage of corruption. Corroborating with these results, Zuccolotto and Teixeira (2014) carried out a study in Brazilian states to discover the causes of fiscal transparency. The authors found that these causes are associated with better socioeconomic and human development, with a high level of competition, and with a low level of corruption.…”

Transparência: reposicionando o debate

“…Essas perspectivas foram definidas por esses autores levando-se em consideração trabalhos realizados pela Transparência Internacional, pelo International Budget Partnership e por trabalhos que se dedicaram a avaliar os níveis de transparência, tanto no contexto nacional, como no internacional, como (CRUZ et al, 2012;PINHO, 2008;TEIXEIRA, 2014).…”

“…Trabalhos realizados no Brasil (AKUTSU; PINHO, 2002;CRUZ et al, 2012;PINHO, 2008;TEIXEIRA, 2014) se propuseram 1 O termo estilizado, na concepção utilizada por Michener e Bersch (2011), sugere que o termo transparência é modificado (suprimindo-se, substituindo-se e/ou acrescentando elementos ao termo) para que seja possível obter determinados resultados. 2 Transparência midiática refere-se, neste trabalho, às informações divulgadas em meio eletrônico de acesso público como portais e sites na internet.…”

Transparência orçamentária: razões do descompasso entre os estados brasileiros

“…No entanto, mesmo que tais leis estabeleçam conteúdos orçamentários mínimos, a serem divulgados pelos entes subnacionais, e em virtude da importância atribuída à transparência como princípio para a democratização do Estado, diversas pesquisas revelam a existência de deficit de transparência orçamentária na gestão pública (e, consequentemente, de democracia), independentemente do nível governamental considerado (AKUTSU; PINHO, 2002;INESC, 2001;ZUCCOLOTTO, 2014;SANTANA JUNIOR, 2008;ZUCCOLOTTO;TEIXEIRA, 2014). Essas pesquisas apontam, ainda, que o nível de transparência é diferente entre os estados subnacionais e entre os municípios.…”