Análise da relação entre o Índice de Governança Pública do Tribunal de Contas da União e a eficiência do gasto público nas Instituições Federais de Ensino

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the public governance index of The Federal Court of Accounts – Brazil and the efficiency of public spending in Federal Education Institutions. Therefore, we sought to measure the efficiency of public spending and, subsequently, identify the influence of public governance capacity, measured by iGovPúb and its practices, on the obtained levels of efficiency of public spending. Institutions' performance and quality indicators, measured by TCU and INEP, were used to calculate the levels of efficiency, and data on public governance capacity from surveys carried out by the Court in 2017 and 2018, to identify the influence of capacity in public governance on the efficiency of public spending. The techniques used were Data Envelopment Analysis – DEA and Quantile Regression with panel data. To measure efficiency, institutions were separated into three groups: Group 1 – Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology; Group 2 – Federal Universities with less emphasis on postgraduate studies; and Group 3 – Federal Universities with greater emphasis on postgraduate studies. The results of the measurement of efficiency showed that the group composed of Federal Universities with greater emphasis on the post-graduate studies had higher average public expenditure efficiency than the group with less emphasis. The group composed of the Federal Institutes had the lowest average efficiency, in addition to showing a drop in the average level between 2017 and 2018. The results of the analysis of the relationship between iGovPúb and the efficiency of public spending were not statistically significant and it was possible to observe a large discrepancy between the data on governance of the institutions. For this reason, it is not possible to affirm that the capacity in public governance, measured by iGovPúb, influences the efficiency of public spending in Federal Education Institutions. However, the importance of governance practices for public organizations cannot be overlooked. The results of the Quantile Regression indicated that a higher student-teacher ratio and a higher qualification index of the faculty reflect better levels of efficiency. Larger institutions also tend to be more efficient. The analysis of regional influence on the level of efficiency indicated that institutions located in the northeast region are less efficient, however, more studies are needed to diagnose the causes of this result.