Reconceptualising ecological fiscal transfers to sustainable development perspective

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.