Fiscal management transparency: a study of the websites of the principal municipalities of Rio de Janeiro State

This study examined the degree of fiscal transparency provided by the websites of the principal municipalities of the state of Rio de Janeiro and the factors which may influence this transparency, such as population, budgeted resources, income per capita, literacy rates, the Human Development Index for the municipality, IQM (Municipal Quality Index), and the stage of development of the site. The initial assumption was that the higher the level of social and economic indicators, the greater the level of electronic fiscal transparency. References used dealt with the transparency of fiscal management as more than just a legal requirement, involving the promotion of a better interaction between government and citizens, facilitation of the exercise of citizenship, and accountability. The technique of content analysis was applied to the websites of 23 municipalities. Parametric tests of correlation and regression analysis were used to analyze the relationship among the variables of interest. Results showed low levels of electronic fiscal transparency, levels considered to be incompatible with the socioeconomic development of the municipalities. Positive relationships were observed between the level of fiscal transparency on the websites and the variables of population, budgeted resources, literacy, the HDI of the municipality, IQM and the stage of development of the site. The relationship between transparency and per capita income was not found to be significant. These results are consistent with those of other studies conducted in Brazil and in other countries.