Os efeitos das políticas públicas da SUDENE no desenvolvimento socioeconômico dos municípios da região Nordeste

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze the effects of the second phase of SUDENE on the socioeconomic development of municipalities in the Northeast region of Brazil. To achieve this, the research adopts a quantitative approach, utilizing the Propensity Score Matching methodology and the Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis technique. Qualitative methodologies complement this study by providing theoretical grounding and supporting data collection. Historically, the Northeast region of Brazil has faced structural challenges that keeps it in a state of underdevelopment, which shows the need for public policies aimed at regional development. In this context, the Superintendence for the Development of the Northeast (SUDENE) operates as an autonomous agency responsible for formulating and managing public policies that promote sustainable and inclusive development, also boosting the regional productive base. The results of this research show that the majority (88.6%) of the municipalities in the Brazil’s Northeast experienced a positive variation in their municipal GDP during the analyzed period, indicating favorable economic dynamism. In social aspects, the temporal dynamics were also positive, with most municipalities showing improvements in health (97.5%) and education (99.5%) index. Although these positive variations were observed, it cannot be concluded that the social advancements were enough to recover from decades of regional development lag. In terms of socioeconomic development, measured by the FIRJAN Index of General Municipal Development, the vast majority of municipalities (98.6%) showed progress. Given that 64.6% of Brazilian Northeastern municipalities received some kind of intervention from SUDENE during the period, the study sought to analyze the actual effects of SUDENE’s actions on the temporal dynamics of socioeconomic development in the region. The corollary of this study identified that SUDENE had a positive and statistically significant effect on the economic growth rate of the municipalities that benefited from its actions compared to municipalities that did not. SUDENE's interventions also influenced job creation and income distribution in the labor market. However, no significant effects were found in social development indicators.