No margin, no mission? A field experiment on incentives for public service delivery

Ashraf, Nava ORCID: 0000-0003-3014-8439, Bandiera, Oriana ORCID: 0009-0002-6817-793X and Jack, B. Kelsey (2014) No margin, no mission? A field experiment on incentives for public service delivery. Journal of Public Economics, 120. pp. 1-17. ISSN 0047-2727

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Abstract

We conduct a field experiment to evaluate the effect of extrinsic rewards, both financial and non-financial, on the performance of agents recruited by a public health organization to promote HIV prevention and sell condoms. In this setting: (i) non-financial rewards are effective at improving performance; (ii) the effect of both types of rewards is stronger for pro-socially motivated agents; and (iii) both types of rewards are effective when their relative value is high. The findings illustrate that extrinsic rewards can improve the performance of agents engaged in public service delivery, and that non-financial rewards can be effective in settings where the power of financial incentives is limited.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-public...
Additional Information:	© 2014 Elsevier B.V.
Divisions:	Economics STICERD
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance H Social Sciences > HJ Public Finance
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D82 - Asymmetric and Private Information J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J33 - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods M - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting > M5 - Personnel Economics > M52 - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects (stock options, fringe benefits, incentives, family support programs, seniority issues) O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
Date Deposited:	24 Jun 2014 09:00
Last Modified:	13 Nov 2024 18:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/57214

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