Fiscal management and pillars of the Fiscal Responsibility Law in Brazil: evidence in large municipalities

Abstract Through a multidimensional perspective of fiscal management, the present study analyses the relationship between the indexes of fiscal compliance and fiscal limits with variables that represent the pillars of planning, transparency and control. The study used primary data from 282 Brazilian municipalities, with more than 100 thousand inhabitants, in the period between 2010 and 2013. The fiscal indexes did not present relevant mutual relationships and showed a reduced association with the other variables of fiscal management. It is suggested that one of the reasons lies in the difference between the incentives that public managers have to accomplish fiscal targets and limits and to comply with the other pillars. This paper broadens the discussion about responsible fiscal management evaluation, as well as the literature on indexes of compliance with targets and fiscal limits.