Title: Reconceptualising ecological fiscal transfers to sustainable development perspective

Authors: Felipe Luiz Lima De Paulo; Ivo Vasconcelos Pedrosa; Pedro Jorge Sobral Camões

Addresses: Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Avenida Gregório Ferraz Nogueira José Tomé de Souza Ramos, 56909535 – Serra Talhada, Pernambuco, Brazil ' Universidade de Pernambuco – UPE, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Economia do Setor Público – NUPESP, Rua Casa Forte, 65, apto. 1101, bairro Casa Forte, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil ' Universidade do Minho, Escola de Economia e Gestão, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

Abstract: Ecological fiscal transfers (EFTs) is a policy schema that uses ecological indicators to allocate revenues to local governments. Such intergovernmental fiscal transfers are also suited to address social policies, such as the protection of indigenous land and the reduction of infant and child mortality rates. This study offers a new conceptualisation of EFT to achieve sustainable local development that brings together economic, ecological, and social perspectives. Framed on the theories of environmental federalism, fiscal federalism, and public policy, this paper unfolds the concept of sustainable fiscal transfers (SFTs) rather than the more conventional EFTs. SFTs expand the potential of the EFT to other policies, functioning as a policy tool to reach goals in social, economic and environmental policies at the local level. In order to illustrate this new conceptualisation, it describes the SFTs as a Brazilian state policy.

Keywords: EFTs; ecological fiscal transfers; SFTs; sustainable fiscal transfers; sustainable development; fiscal federalism; Brazil; local governments; state governments; ICMS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2022.119237

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2022 Vol.16 No.1, pp.22 - 31

Accepted: 24 Jul 2020
Published online: 30 Nov 2021 *

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