The Power of Information: Evidence from a newspaper campaign to reduce capture: The Power of Information: Evidence from a newspaper campaign to reduce capture Ritva Reinikka
Development Research Group (DRG)
The World Bank Jakob Svensson
IIES Stockholm
University and DRG
The standard anti-corruption project: The standard anti-corruption project Relies on legal and financial institutions judiciary, police, financial auditors for better policies of accountability
But in many poor countries, these institutions are weak and among the most corrupt.
few recent examples of successful efforts to combat corruption and capture in public programs.
A complementary approach : A complementary approach Takes the expected users of public services as a starting point
Rather than increasing accountability from above, the idea is to enhance “client power”
That is, to empower citizens to demand certain standards, monitor and challenge the abuse of institutions, systems, and officials with whom they interact in their daily lives
An unusual policy experiment: An unusual policy experiment An information campaign in Uganda to reduce local capture of education funds by empowering schools (parents) to monitor local officials’ handling of a large school-grant program
MOF/MOLG publish monthly transfers of capitation grants to districts in newspapers
Subsequently notices on actual receipts of funds posted at all schools
We exploit this policy experiment to study the effects of increased public access to information as a tool to reduce capture and corruption
Public expenditure tracking survey (PETS): Public expenditure tracking survey (PETS) A public expenditure tracking survey of primary schools had revealed extensive capture of a capitation grant intended for schools
on average schools received only 20 % of their entitlements in 1995 (Reinikka and Svensson 2004)
A repeat PETS in 2001
Key features of relationship of accountability: Key features of relationship of accountability
Short and long route of accountability: Short and long route of accountability
Capitation Grant Program: A national program that prescribes a set amount of funds to each student.
Local (district) offices used as distribution channels (opportunity to capture the funds)
PETS compares data of releases of funds (from central ministry) with school survey data on receipts Capitation Grant Program
Effects of increased public access to information: Effects of increased public access to information
Effects of increased public access to information: Effects of increased public access to information Problem: not able to observe what would happen to a school in both the state where it is informed of its entitlements and that where it is not
Problem is compounded by the fact that the information campaign non-exclusive
Intuitively, schools with access to newspapers are more extensively exposed to the information campaign
Treatment group: schools having access to at least one of the main newspapers
Can the policy changes in the late 1990s explain the improvement?: Can the policy changes in the late 1990s explain the improvement? Compare schools’ pre- and post-campaign situations, controlling for school-specific effects like income, quality of the school staff, school size
Can the policy changes in the late 1990s explain the improvement?: Can the policy changes in the late 1990s explain the improvement?
Difference-in-differences estimation: Difference-in-differences estimation
Newspapers and knowledge: Newspapers and knowledge If newpaper access were a valid proxy of better access to information, schools with access to newspapers should be more informed about the program.
Exploit data on a simple knowledge test of head teachers to ”test” this prediction.
Newspapers and knowledge: Newspapers and knowledge
Outcome across schools with and without access to newspapers: Outcome across schools with and without access to newspapers Concern: newspaper access endogenous
control for initial outcomes (including unobserved school specific fixed effects)
schools do not necessarily buy their own newspaper
access to newspapers determined by logistical factors outside the school/community's control
School may be well informed about the program even if it lacks a newspaper, if parents have one
Treatment group is not homogeneous
access to newspapers varies
Instrument for the exposure to the newspaper campaign: Instrument for the exposure to the newspaper campaign Distance to the nearest newspaper outlet.
Valid instrument?
must affect the school’s exposure to new information about the grant program but have no direct effect on the its ability to claim funds from the district
distance to the nearest newspaper outlet captures the cost and ease of accessing a newspaper => correlated both with the school’s and the community’s likelihood of being exposed
Instrumental variable estimation: Instrumental variable estimation Strong relationship between distance to the nearest newspaper outlet and reduction in capture since the newspaper campaign started in contrast to the earlier period
Group effects
Externalities in learning about the grant program
Local officials may not be able to distinguish whether school is informed about its entitlement
Conclusion: Conclusion Provision of mass information, a cheap intervention, allowed Uganda dramatically to reduce local capture of a public program aimed at increasing primary education
Because poor people were less able than others to claim their entitlement from district officials before the campaign, but just as likely in 2001, they benefited most from it.
Several countries have initiated similar capitation grant programs
Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Cambodia
The results suggest that policies to inform and empower the end-users should be an integral part of the school grant programs.