The influence of municipal expenditure on the general quality of basic education in Brazil

This study aims to analyze the contribution of the total expenditures committed by the Brazilian municipalities in Infant, Primary and Secondary Education in the general quality of basic education in these municipalities. A Multiple Regression Model was used by means of descriptive and quantitative analysis to estimate the relation between total municipal per capita expenditure and the results of the FIRJAN Municipal Development Index - IFDM-Education. A total of 5.415 municipalities were analyzed in the period from 2005 to 2013. The model as a whole and the variables used (education expenditures in each Brazilian region) were statistically significant, also indicating that 61,62% of the variations in the Education-IFDM were explained by changes in expenses. The results obtained also showed that the Brazilian region whose expenses contribute most positively to the quality of education is the South, followed by the Southeast, Midwest, North and Northeast. Over the years analyzed, it was also possible to notice the evolution of the increase in the expenditures committed with Brazilian education, favoring, in a general way, improvements in the results in the IFDM- Education of the municipalities. Thus, it is possible to conclude that the expenditures committed in education by the municipalities must be continuous. In addition, attention should be paid to the lower efficiency of these expenditures for the North and Northeast regions, since different factors can influence this efficiency and also, directly, the quality of municipal education itself.