Budget institutions and fiscal performance of the Brazilian Federal Government

This article aims to assess the impact of federal budget institutions on the primary deficit of the Brazilian Federal Government from 1985 to 2009, a period marked by important changes in these institutions. Based on the methodology established in the literature on political economy that is linked to the macroeconomic mainstream, three sets of budget indices and their respective sub-indices are constructed, and their behaviour over the period of analysis indicate that the changes made have resulted in institutions that induce greater fiscal discipline. Regarding the effect of these institutions on the fiscal performance, the results allow us to conclude that the institutional changes have contributed to a lower government deficit.