Can Scorecards Improve Municipal Government Performance? A Field Experiment

Last registered on November 05, 2019
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Can Scorecards Improve Municipal Government Performance? A Field Experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004953
Initial registration date
November 04, 2019

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 05, 2019, 9:40 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Burkina Faso
Region
Sahel, Centre-Nord, Centre-Est, Plateau-Central, Centre-Sud, Cascades

Primary Investigator

Name
Malte Lierl
Affiliation
German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Marcus Holmlund
PI Affiliation
World Bank
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2014-06-01
End date
2020-12-31
Keywords
Governance
Additional Keywords
Decentralization, Performance Information, Scorecards
JEL code(s)
D73, H00, H11, H70, O10
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We test if performance scorecards can increase municipal government performance. In a field experiment in Burkina Faso, local decision makers are provided with a scorecard that provides information on national performance standards and on the municipality's actual performance along 16 indicators of service delivery and institutional capacity. Municipal officials are asked to internally assign responsibilities for each performance indicator and are made aware that their performance is being monitored.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Holmlund, Marcus and Malte Lierl. 2019. "Can Scorecards Improve Municipal Government Performance? A Field Experiment." AEA RCT Registry. November 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4953-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
In a field experiment in Burkina Faso, local decision makers are provided with a scorecard that provides information on national performance standards and on the municipality's actual performance along 16 indicators of service delivery and institutional capacity. Municipal officials are asked to internally assign responsibilities for each performance indicator and are made aware that their performance is being monitored.
Intervention Start Date
2016-11-01
Intervention End Date
2019-01-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Municipal government performance, as measured by the scorecard indicators.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Municipal officials' knowledge of performance targets and of actual performance.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In 70 randomly selected treatment municipalities (blocked by region), municipal performance scorecards are disseminated to key municipal officials in 2016 and in 2017. Baseline data: municipal performance in 2014, 2015, 2016. Midline data: municipal performance in 2017, Endline data: municipal performance in 2018.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Block randomization by region, equal treatment assignment probabilities across all regions.
Randomization Unit
Municipalities
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
140 municipalities
Sample size: planned number of observations
140 municipalities
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
70 treatment municipalities, 70 control municipalities
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Human Subjects Committee for Innovations for Poverty Action IRB-USA
IRB Approval Date
2018-04-04
IRB Approval Number
14159
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials