E-governance, accountability, and leakage in public programs: Experimental evidence from a financial management reform in India
By: Banerjee, Abhijit
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Material type: 
BookPublisher: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics Description: 12(4), Oct, 2020: p.39-72.Subject(s): Financial management reform, Government policy, Information technologies
In:
American Economic Journal: Applied EconomicsSummary: Can e-governance reforms improve government policy? By making information available on a real-time basis, information technologies may reduce the theft of public funds. We analyze a large field experiment and the nationwide scale-up of a reform to India's workfare program. Advance payments were replaced by "just-in-time" payments, triggered by e-invoicing, making it easier to detect misreporting. Leakages went down: program expenditures dropped by 24 percent, while employment slightly increased; there were fewer fake households in the official database; and program officials' personal wealth fell by 10 percent. However, payment delays increased. The nationwide scale-up resulted in a persistent 19 percent reduction in program expenditure. – Reproduced
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Articles
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Indian Institute of Public Administration | 12(4), Oct, 2020: p.39-72 | Available | AR124431 |
Can e-governance reforms improve government policy? By making information available on a real-time basis, information technologies may reduce the theft of public funds. We analyze a large field experiment and the nationwide scale-up of a reform to India's workfare program. Advance payments were replaced by "just-in-time" payments, triggered by e-invoicing, making it easier to detect misreporting. Leakages went down: program expenditures dropped by 24 percent, while employment slightly increased; there were fewer fake households in the official database; and program officials' personal wealth fell by 10 percent. However, payment delays increased. The nationwide scale-up resulted in a persistent 19 percent reduction in program expenditure. – Reproduced
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