FUNDEF e FUNDEB : efeitos redistributivos e impacto nas finanças dos municípios do estado do Rio Grande do Sul.

Abstract

This thesis makes an analysis of the fiscal imbalances occurring in the Brazilian Federative structure with emphasis on the system of intergovernmental transfers from the assessment of the resources allocated for the funding of fundamental education (FUNDEF) and basic school (FUNDEB) in the State of Rio Grande do Sul in the 2005-2015 period. Following the 1988 Federal Constitution and the reforms implemented as of the 1990`s, there has been a clear trend to shift the spending and charging power from the Federal Government to the State and local governments. This action has not been followed, however, at the same extension, by the decentralization of tax powers. This has led to two important consequences, which are interconnected: the expansion and increasing complexity of the transfer systems and the increasing role of the central Government as a fund raiser and distributor rather than a direct producer of goods and services. Taking into account the social and economic inequalities existing between the regions and the municipalities of the State of Rio Grande do Sul and the need to establish a minimum standard of equalization in the access, by the population, to public services, the purpose of this study was that of analyzing whether or not the financial funds available to FUNDEF and FUNDEB (on account of the complexity of the Federal Brazilian structure) have been a suitable alternative to educational funding. The theoretical foundation is mostly based on the theory of territorial federalism, followed by the theories of federalism and fiscal federalism, which have helped understand the problem. The empirical research was divided into two parts. In the first stage of the study, the fiscal imbalances in the Brazilian Federative structure have been measured by placing emphasis on own tax revenues and intergovernmental transfers. A first study has measured the fiscal imbalances in the Brazilian federative structure, with an emphasis on its own tax revenues and intergovernmental transfers, seeking to demonstrate that the so-called horizontal imbalances (resulting from the distribution of revenue in the municipal sphere) are today as important as or more important than the vertical imbalances. It has been demonstrated that in the 2004- 2014 period, the revenue performance of municipalities, broken down into population groups and Regional Development Councils of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Coredes RS) is determined by the Population and GDP variables, which increases not only the concentration of income in the towns and regions with the largest population and highest GDP, but also the regional imbalances in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. In the second part of the empirical research, the distributive vertical and horizontal effects of the funds accounting policy for educational funding (FUNDEF and FUNDEB) have been analyzed in the fiscal, Federative and territorial aspects, along with the impacts it has produced in the revenues of the municipalities of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The results show that the educational funding is less contributive than the other types of fiscal transfers, and the municipalities that most receive resources from the Fund are those with the largest population and GDP, thus promoting the concentration or resources intended for educational funding in few regions of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The results corroborate the warnings being given by Literature, that is, that in Brazil, the State is more present where the administrative structure is more concentrated (City Hall, State and Federal Government) and where the largest portion of the population and national production are more present, thus favoring and helping ensure the continuity of regional or territorial inequalities (social, economic, etc.). The conclusions and notes contained in this study are intended to contribute to the debate about the new model of funding for basic education, considering that Fundeb will be valid until 2020.