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Information is power : experimental evidence on the long-run impact of community based monitoring

Author

Listed:
  • Nyqvist, Martina Bjorkman
  • de Walque, Damien
  • Svensson, Jakob

Abstract

This paper presents the results of two field experiments on local accountability in primary health care in Uganda. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control, coupled with the provision of report cards on staff performance, resulted in significant improvements in health care delivery and health outcomes in both the short and the longer run. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control without providing information on performance had no impact on quality of care or health outcomes. The paper shows that informed users are more likely to identify and challenge (mis)behavior by providers and as a result turn their focus to issues that they can manage locally.

Suggested Citation

  • Nyqvist, Martina Bjorkman & de Walque, Damien & Svensson, Jakob, 2014. "Information is power : experimental evidence on the long-run impact of community based monitoring," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7015, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Duflo, Esther & Dupas, Pascaline & Kremer, Michael, 2015. "School governance, teacher incentives, and pupil–teacher ratios: Experimental evidence from Kenyan primary schools," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 92-110.
    3. Martina Björkman & Jakob Svensson, 2009. "Power to the People: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment on Community-Based Monitoring in Uganda," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(2), pages 735-769.
    4. Duflo, Esther & Glennerster, Rachel & Kremer, Michael, 2008. "Using Randomization in Development Economics Research: A Toolkit," Handbook of Development Economics, in: T. Paul Schultz & John A. Strauss (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 61, pages 3895-3962, Elsevier.
    5. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Rukmini Banerji & Esther Duflo & Rachel Glennerster & Stuti Khemani, 2010. "Pitfalls of Participatory Programs: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Education in India," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 1-30, February.
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    7. Ghazala Mansuri & Vijayendra Rao, 2013. "Localizing Development : Does Participation Work?," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 11859.
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    Cited by:

    1. Muhammad Haseeb & Kate Vyborny, 2016. "Imposing institutions: Evidence from cash transfer reform in Pakistan," CSAE Working Paper Series 2016-36, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    2. Fox, Jonathan A., 2015. "Social Accountability: What Does the Evidence Really Say?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 346-361.
    3. World Bank Group, 2014. "Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in World Bank Group Operations," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 21113.
    4. Alawattage, Chandana & Azure, John De-Clerk, 2021. "Behind the World Bank’s ringing declarations of “social accountability”: Ghana’s public financial management reform," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Björkman Nyqvist, Martina & Svensson, Jakob & Guariso, Andrea & Yanagizawa-Drott, David, 2016. "Effect of a micro entrepreneur-based community health delivery program on under-five mortality in Uganda: a cluster-randomized," CEPR Discussion Papers 11515, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. David William Walker, 2016. "How Systemic Inquiry Releases Citizen Knowledge to Reform Schools: Community Scorecard Case Studies," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 313-334, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Housing&Human Habitats; Health Systems Development&Reform; Population Policies; Disease Control&Prevention;
    All these keywords.

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