Abstract
Resumo O texto tem como objetivo discutir as capacidades do Estado brasileiro, notadamente do Poder Executivo Federal, para produzir políticas de infraestrutura eficientes que entreguem os benefícios esperados e obtenham o apoio (ou o consentimento) dos grupos sociais impactados. Argumenta-se que a profissionalização e a qualificação técnica existentes na burocracia pública do governo federal são constrangidas pela baixa autonomia e coesão intragovernamental. Igualmente, as relações da burocracia com a sociedade local, os representantes dos entes federativos e as agências de controle são precárias. Tal situação constitui-se em barreira para a eficiência e legitimidade da ação estatal no setor.
Highlights
During the past decade various governmental plans and programs have appeared in Brazil with the objective of stimulating investment in the infrastructure sector as a way to leverage economic growth and meet society’s needs for quality public goods and services
According to Abreu and Câmara (2015), the focus on infrastructure projects in the political agenda during this period culminated in specific alterations in the way in which budgets are organized and produced in order to improve their chances of success
Democracy demands transparency and control in terms of the actions of its politicians and bureaucrats and that it include more actors in the decision making processes. This has led the capacity of the state to carry out public policy being associated with the technical quality of the bureaucracy in providing public services, and the existence and effective functioning of channels that connect the state’s political-administrative apparatus with civil society, conferring legitimacy to these state actions (Painter and Pierre, 2005; Evans, 2011)
Summary
During the past decade various governmental plans and programs have appeared in Brazil with the objective of stimulating investment in the infrastructure sector as a way to leverage economic growth and meet society’s needs for quality public goods and services. Based on the causal antecedents listed by the literature, the working hypothesis adopted by this study is that bureaucratic capacity is an essential attribute to the quality of infrastructure projects that contributes to success in the decision making (or project selection) process This has a direct impact on the quantity of time and resources used in the execution of projects (allocational and technical efficiency).. This has a direct impact on the quantity of time and resources used in the execution of projects (allocational and technical efficiency).5 In this same way, relational capacity — which alludes to the qualified interaction process between multiple interested actors (stakeholders) — would be positively associated with political support for projects and social learning, resulting in quality public services with the following expected benefits (box 1 below).
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