Urban development financing

Vol. 17 No. 4 (1997)

Oct-Dec / 1997
Published October 1, 1997
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))
PDF-Portuguese (Português (Brasil))

How to Cite

Rezende, Fernando. 1997. “Urban Development Financing”. Brazilian Journal of Political Economy 17 (4):578-601. https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-31571997-0945.

Urban development financing

Fernando Rezende
Economista, professor da Escola Brasileira de Administração Pública da Fundação Getúlio Vargas Rio de Janeiro – EBAPE-FGV, Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brasil.
Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 17 No. 4 (1997), Oct-Dec / 1997, Pages 578-601

Abstract

This paper deals with a controversial aspect of the Brazilian public policies: the
way urban investment and the provision of urban services are financed. The failure of pat
solutions, based on a highly centralized decision-making process of channeling budgetary
resources and forced savings to state and local governments, led to a situation in which financial
difficulties became one of the main reasons of the deteriorating urban infrastructure
and urban services in most of the major Brazilian cities. Against this background the paper
argues for a through revision of the way and means of urban development financing, based
on recommendations of pooling available resources, implementing professional management
and moving toward better intergovernmental coordination of urban policies. Confidence
in the newer rules, and in its maintenance over time, is also emphasized as an important
requisite for attracting private capital to important areas, such as sanitation, transportation
and housing.

JEL Classification: R11; R58; O23.


Keywords: Urbanization economic development public expenditure