Contribuição do programa FECOP ao desenvolvimento do Ceará

Abstract

The present work aims to investigate and to know if the contribution of the FECOP – Fundo Stadia de Combated à Pores, in the improvement of the IDM - Index of Municipal Development - of the state of Ceará cities, with consequent improvement of the quality of life and reduction of the poverty, main objective of the program created by the Government of the State of the Ceará. The institution of the FECOP represented a benchmark in the political history of Ceará, a state characterized by high concentration of income and poor people, therefore, it was created for the first time a specific program for fighting poverty. The program that initially would benefit to the ten poorest municipalities with lowest IDM in 2000, later extended to all of them. Initially it is carried on a descriptive analysis of the program, where it presents economic and financial positive performance during the period. It is demonstrated through correlation analysis based on official data of the program FECOP in the period 2004-2006, along with other programs to combat poverty, such as Bolsa Família, these programs point to the improvement of the average IDM for selected municipalities, as such transfers are made in absolute terms. As the money transfers are relativized by the municipality fiscal transfer (FPM), they still maintain the positive effect on the IDM, although the correlation magnitude is quite lower. However, when extracting the effect on the municipalities that were above average growth in the IDM, it could not demonstrate causal significance of the income transfer programs. These results suggest a further investigation by the policy makers about the methodological principles and management of the money transfer programs.