Financiación y eficiencia de los municipios portugueses

espanolEvaluar la eficiencia de los gobiernos locales es una tarea compleja que tiene que considerar el contexto heterogeneo en el que estos operan normalmente. Por lo tanto, la estimacion de medidas de eficiencia representativas de su desempeno requiere que se tenga en cuenta el efecto de las variables exogenas o contextuales que afectan al proceso de produccion. Esto deberia garantizar que las medidas estimadas reflejen adecuadamente la proporcion de ineficiencia que se puede atribuir a las autoridades locales. En esta investigacion aplicamos el modelo de frontera condicional dependiente del tiempo para evaluar el rendimiento de los 278 municipios peninsulares de Portugal continental en el periodo 2009-2014. Este enfoque no parametrico no requiere asumir los restrictivos supuestos sobre la especificacion de la funcion de produccion estimada, requerido por el metodo tradicional de dos etapas. Ademas, se evalua el efecto de variables contextuales y exogenas sobre los niveles de eficiencia municipal y tambien sobre el cambio tecnologico. Los resultados muestran que las reformas locales recientemente introducidas en Portugal despues del acuerdo de rescate mejoraron ligeramente la gestion de las autoridades locales, aunque solo en los municipios de pequeno y mediano tamano. EnglishThe aim of this research is to study how the levels of efficiency and productivity of Portuguese municipalities have been affected by the recent reforms introduced in the Local Administration in Portugal after the bailout agreement with the so-called troika (European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund). In the empirical study we analyze the levels of global efficiency of the 278 Portuguese continental municipalities over the 2009-2014 period. The efficiency measures of the global performance of municipalities are based on data about different indicators representing services provided (outputs) and resources used (inputs). Moreover, as we are aware that the performance of local governments may be affected by the context in which they operate, we have also taken into account the effect of a set of exogenous variables representing the socioeconomic environment as well as several variables reflecting the effects of the reforms such as the level of indebtedness or the number of civil parishes. The methodology applied in our empirical analysis is the nonparametric conditional approach developed by Daraio and Simar (2005, 2007) which allows us to include directly the information about exogenous variables in the calculation of efficiency scores. Additionally, as we have longitudinal data, we have also applied an extension of this technique developed by Mastromarco and Simar (2015) in order to adapt our model to a dynamic framework. In this way, it is possible to examine both the effect of contextual variables on municipalities´ efficiency levels and technological change over the evaluated period. The results indicate that large municipalities present higher levels of efficiency, although we observe a certain level of convergence among municipalities after the implementation of local reforms since small and median municipalities have been more benefited by those reforms. portuguesAvaliar a eficiencia dos governos locais e uma tarefa complexa que tem de considerar o contexto heterogeneo em que estes normalmente operam. Portanto, a estimativa de medidas de eficiencia relativa representativas do seu desempenho exige que se considere o efeito das variaveis contextuais ou exogenas que afetam o processo de producao. Este procedimento deve garantir que as medidas estimadas refletem adequadamente a proporcao de ineficiencia que pode ser atribuida as autoridades locais. Nesta investigacao, aplica-se o modelo de fronteira condicional dependente do tempo para avaliar a performance dos 278 municipios de Portugal Continental no periodo de 2009-2014. Esta abordagem nao parametrica evita a assuncao das condicoes restritivas sobre a especificacao da funcao de producao estimada, exigidas pelo metodo tradicional de duas etapas. Alem disso, avalia-se o efeito das variaveis contextuais e exogenas sobre os niveis de eficiencia municipal e sobre a mudanca tecnologica. Os resultados mostram que as reformas locais, recentemente introduzidas em Portugal apos o acordo de resgaste, melhoraram ligeiramente o desempenho das autoridades locais mas somente nos municipios de pequena e media dimensao.