This paper aims at analyzing the impacts of the Fiscal Responsibility Law (FRL) on total expenditures across municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. To accomplish the objectives of the paper, we analyzed the situation before and after the Law using a dynamic panel. There was convergence on expenditure and investments after the advent of the FRL. There has been identified a tendency for convergence in staff expenses among Minas Gerais' municipalities. Besides, it has also been possible to identify processes of convergence in investments, with relative reduction in its overall value. These have been associated, on the one hand, with convergence and increase in staff expenses; on the other, with restrictions on credit operations imposed by the law.
Fiscal responsibility law; municipal finance; dynamic panel
