Abstract
Does local oversight improve public service delivery? We study the effect of a mobile phone application that allows citizens to monitor school construction projects in Brazilian municipalities. The app prompts users to submit data about construction sites, sends such crowdsourced information to independent engineers, and contacts the mayors’ offices about project delays. Our results show that the app has a null impact on school construction indicators. Additionally, we find that politicians are unresponsive to individual requests. The results question the impact of bottom-up monitoring on public service performance and suggest that interventions targeted at other groups, or focused on different issues, may produce better policy outcomes.
Highlights
A robust accountability system is crucial for efficient public services provision (Besley and Ghatak, 2003; Cameron, 2004; Ferejohn, 1986; O’Donnell, 1998)
Each column represents the treatment effect of the Tá de Pé (TDP) app on one of the outcomes we measured for this study
At least in the school construction outcomes we investigate here, we find little evidence that grassroots monitoring works in the context of school constructions in Brazil
Summary
A robust accountability system is crucial for efficient public services provision (Besley and Ghatak, 2003; Cameron, 2004; Ferejohn, 1986; O’Donnell, 1998). Developed by Transparência Brasil,1 TDP allows citizens to learn the location of public school construction sites, check their completion status, and anonymously request information from competent authorities. We use the TDP app to conduct two experimental interventions and test the impact of citizen oversight on five outcomes related to school completion rates and complaints to public authorities.
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