The Principle of Efficiency in Brazilian Public Administration: Limits and Challenges for Public Service Delivery

Abstract

Efficiency was expressly incorporated into Article 37 of the Brazilian Federal Constitution by Constitutional Amendment No. 19/1998 and has since become a legal benchmark for administrative organization and public service delivery. This article analyzes the limits and challenges of its implementation in Brazil, considering the need to reconcile results, quality, speed, and economy with legality, equality, transparency, and the protection of rights. A qualitative, bibliographic, and documentary study with a descriptive-analytical approach was conducted, examining the Constitution, administrative legislation, State reform documents, specialized literature, and oversight acts. The findings indicate that efficiency has gained greater normative density through Law No. 13,460/2017, Law No. 14,129/2021, and Law No. 14,133/2021, which reinforce service evaluation, digital government, planning, and monitoring. However, obstacles persist, including institutional fragmentation, unequal capacities among federative entities, digital exclusion, defensive bureaucracy, and weak performance indicators. Legitimate administrative efficiency, therefore, cannot be reduced to cost cutting; it requires state capacity, user-centered services, responsible measurement of results, inclusion, and democratic oversight.