Post-dam effect in the municipalities impacted by hydroeletric plants in the state of Tocantins/Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyze the post-dam effects of the installation of hydroeletric plants in the municipalities of the State of Tocantins and the contribution in the local development propagated by these enterprises. As methodoly the regional development index (IDR) and the economic variables were analyzed: Tax on the circulation of merchandise and services (ICMS), gross domestic product (GDP) and number of jobs. The main results indicate that though there is an improvement in the IDR, the positive effects of the dams were punctual and at specific periods of construction, observed by the behavior of the variables in the years before and after the projects. This observation allowed us to make an analogy with the economic theory of boom and bust, which shows a high growth rate in the period of implementation and then does not hold. The conclusions indicate that the promises of local development propagated in the approval of the enterprise, was not consolidated in the localities surveyed. There may have been benefits at the national level in light of the need for energy expansion, however, no positive impacts have been demonstrated at the local level, moreover, the environmental and social implications may be greater than return achieved.