Charges versus resources - Preliminary considerations on the feasibility of proposed refocusing of government

Abstract

The Authors' aim is to analyse the financial viability of proposals of a redistribution of responsibilities, through the transfer, to states and municipalities, of a larger share of commitments in the design and implementation of governmental policies.

They start by offering a picture of the present state of affairs, showing how these responsibilities are divided in terms of execution, calling attention to the fact that it is difficult to identify normative responsibilities in sectors where an institutional fragmentation is more accentuated.

After that the Authors examine - with due reservations - some financial effects of alternative schemes to share responsibilities, based on the proposals presented in the former article.

Finally, in an attempt to evaluate said redefinition proposals, they conclude that the new responsibilities deriving from a redistribution of duties between levels of government cannot be supported by successive reinforcements in transfers, nor by a progressive expansion of indebtedness, being of primary importance an increase in the collection of taxes, to prevent the non-utilization of installed capacity or deterioration of the services, both as a consequence of the weakening of local finances.