Does Community Monitoring Improve Public Services? Diverging Evidence from Uganda and India
September 16, 2008 - The push toward community monitoring of public service delivery in development projects is based on the notion that local oversight will raise the social accountability of public service providers and thereby improve the quality of services. Diverging results from evaluations of two community monitoring programs in health and education suggest that local monitoring does not guarantee better service delivery. More> Public Health in Chad: Connecting Spending and Results
August 21, 2008 - The capture and leakage of public funds in the social sectors deprive poor people of the education or health care they need. A recent study in Chad shows that when public funds reach health centers, they make a positive difference in people’s access to health care, a reason why it is important to ensure that they do. More> Armed Conflict and Schooling: Long-term Evidence from Cambodia and Rwanda
May 25, 2008 - New data from Cambodia and Rwanda on the microeconomic impacts of war for non-combatants show that the journey out of conflict is a shaky one for young people, with lasting negative effects on schooling. In Cambodia, where over two million people were killed in the 1970s, survivors—particularly males of school-going age at the end of the seventies—have a lower level of educational achievement than groups who were not exposed to the genocide. In Rwanda, where nearly a tenth of the population was killed in 100 days, the educational system recovered quickly, but again, children exposed to the violence later achieved less education than the cohorts before or after them. They achieved half a year less of completed schooling and are less likely to finish third or fourth grade. The research shows that in both countries, sustained efforts are needed to offer second chances to those most affected by violent conflict. More> Rural to Urban Migration in China: How Do Migrant-Sending Communities Benefit?
April 8, 2008 - The increase in rural to urban migration in China, from only 20 million migrants in 1990 to 132 million by 2006, signals that an important change has occurred in China’s labor. This brief summarize results from two research papers exploring the role of domestic migration for reducing poverty. Drawing on a unique panel of data from households in 88 villages of eight provinces (collected by the Research Center for the Rural Economy at China’s Ministry of Agriculture), the authors conclude that migration is accompanied by an increase in household consumption in migrant home communities and a reduction in rural inequality. These affects, however, are driven by remittances and there is no relationship between migration and investment in assets for non-agricultural production. Interestingly, de Brauw and Giles also find that ability to migrate is associated with a reduced probability of enrolling in high school, which is likely driven by perceptions of a low return to high school for migrants in urban areas. More> Improving Nutritional Status through Behavioral Change: Lessons from Madagascar
January 11, 2008 - A recent impact evaluation study of a community based nutrition program in Madagascar shows that malnutrition can be improved over the short- and long-term when mothers participate in community health programs that promote behavioral change in nutrition, feeding, and hygiene practices. The study highlights important complementarities between maternal education, knowledge, and community infrastructure to achieve improvements in children’s nutritional status. More> |
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