Fiscal management, public management efficiency and socioeconomic development of Ceará municipalities

Abstract The role of public administration in society is to manage public assets to provide better social welfare, promoting greater socioeconomic development. The efficient use of public resources is a basic principle for public management to fulfill this role. In addition, the transparency and control offered by fiscal management are factors that optimize results in the public sector, since they lead public managers to apply best managerial practices. In this context, this work analyzes the effects of fiscal management and public management efficiency on municipal socioeconomic development. Data from the 184 municipalities in the Brazilian state of Ceará, from 2007 to 2013, are analyzed using DEA and linear regression. The results indicate that fiscal management and public management efficiency positively influence municipal socioeconomic development, which indicates that public managers should seek better management efficiency and follow rules of fiscal control.