Data and policy decisions: Experimental evidence from Pakistan

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Development Economics
Year: 2020
Volume: 146
Issue: C

Authors (5)

Callen, Michael (not in RePEc) Gulzar, Saad (University of Notre Dame) Hasanain, Ali (not in RePEc) Khan, Muhammad Yasir (University of Pittsburgh) Rezaee, Arman (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.804 = (α=2.01 / 5 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We evaluate a program in Pakistan that equips government health inspectors with a smartphone app which channels data on rural clinics to senior policy makers. The system led to rural clinics being inspected 104% more often after 6 months, but only 43.8% more often after a year, with the latter estimate not attaining significance at conventional levels. There is also no clear evidence that the increase in inspections led to increases in general staff attendance. In addition, we test whether senior officials act on the information provided by the system. Focusing only on districts where the app is deployed, we find that highlighting poorly performing facilities on a dashboard viewed by supervisors raises doctor attendance by 75%. Our results indicate that technology may be able to mobilize data to useful effect, even in low capacity settings.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:deveco:v:146:y:2020:i:c:s0304387820300985
Journal Field
Development
Author Count
5
Added to Database
2026-01-25