Paradoxes of inter-municipal public consortia in Brazil: do state capacities and social accountability in municipalities influence their decisions to cooperate?

Abstract

Brazilian literature on intergovernmental cooperation to formulate and deliver public policies (referred here as “inter-municipal public consortia”), suggests a lack of managerial quality and social accountability in these arrangements. The studies, however, do not explore the context of management and social accountability in the municipalities that participate in these consortia, observing whether these elements influence the decision of local governments to engage in intergovernmental cooperation. The research addresses this issue by analyzing inter-municipal consortia in health, education, and sanitation policies in Brazil. It uses a Probit model where there are four independent variables: state capacities (existence of municipal plan and funds and single command of the sector) and social accountability (municipal councils with representatives of the government and civil society). When controlled by other demographic, socioeconomic, political, and financial variables, the results do not provide empirical support for the hypotheses about the influence of local management and social accountability in the municipalities’ decision to cooperate. The study concludes that there is a paradox when expecting managerial quality and more social accountability in inter-municipal consortia. At the same time, these elements are not observed as crucial in the municipality’s decisions to participate in these cooperative arrangements.

Keywords

• inter-municipal cooperation
• state capacity
• social accountability
• health
• community education