Do Performance Agreements Help Improve Service Delivery?

A growing number of states and municipalities in Brazil rely on results-based management, and many other local and state governments are considering adopting the practice. This paper examines the experiences of the Brazilian states that have implemented results agreements linked to variable pay. The analysis compares current with pre-intervention outcomes in the education, health, and security sectors. The changes are examined in relation to regional trends to determine whether the improvements depart in meaningful ways from the overall trend. In addition, a truncated time-series cross-section model is used to control for several additional factors influencing service delivery outcomes. The results suggest that, at least in the short and medium term, the implementation of results agreements is associated with significant and positive changes in outcomes in the security and education sectors. On average, states using team-level targets and performance-related pay have 15 fewer homicides per 100,000 inhabitants than those that do not, all else equal. Similarly, states that have introduced performance agreements and a bonus for teachers and school staff have improved their Basic Education Development Index score for public secondary schools by 0.3 additional points compared with the scores of states with similar characteristics. The conclusions are in line with the findings of in-depth impact evaluations and case study work in the education and security sectors (Bruns, Evans and Luque 2011, Milagres de Assis 2012). The paper does not analyze unit or team level data, which would be necessary to draw more rigorous conclusions about how results-based interventions affect the behavior of civil servants and outcomes over time. Therefore, the results should be interpreted with caution, as some of the assumptions behind the models cannot be examined with the available data.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Zoratto, Laura, Vinuela, Lorena
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2015-07
Subjects:	SANITATION, WORKFORCE, BASIC EDUCATION, ECONOMIC GROWTH, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, MATERIALS, SEARCH, PREVENTION, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, INTERNAL COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION, LABOR FORCE, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, ENTRY POINT, MONITORING, PUBLIC SERVICES, HEALTH CARE, HEALTH, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, POLITICAL LEADERSHIP, TIME PERIOD, CRIME, MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, SOCIAL PROGRAMS, SECURITY SERVICES, INFORMATION SYSTEMS, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS, HOSPITAL, PUBLIC HEALTH, ACCESS TO EDUCATION, OPEN ACCESS, HEALTH SECTOR, KNOWLEDGE, INSTITUTIONS, LINK, PUBLIC POLICY, DATA, STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, IRON, QUALITY OF EDUCATION, TRAINING, DRUG TRAFFICKING, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, INTERVENTION, MORTALITY RATE, SECONDARY SCHOOLS, DOMAIN, FAMILY HEALTH, TARGETS, PRODUCTIVITY, SECONDARY SCHOOL, CITIZEN, ADOPTION, OBSERVATION, VIOLENCE, FAMILY HEALTH SERVICES, WEB, SERVICE PROVISION, SERVICE DELIVERY, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, INVENTORY, MORTALITY, HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, POLITICAL SUPPORT, PROGRESS, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, UNIONS, TECHNOLOGY, PDF, SCHOOL YEAR, KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT, QUALITY MANAGEMENT, POLICIES, MORTALITY LEVELS, INTERNAL CHANGE, RESULTS, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, HEALTH OUTCOMES, MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, POPULATION DENSITY, STRESS, PARTICIPATORY PROCESS, INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY, MEASUREMENT, PRIVATE SECTOR, POLICY, SOCIAL WELFARE, CITIZENS, CHILD MORTALITY, ADMINISTRATION, HEALTH SYSTEM, CHILD MORTALITY RATES, RESULT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, CHILDREN, STATE GOVERNMENTS, SECURITY, BUSINESS, TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, SET OF GOALS, ISOLATION, PERFORMANCE, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, INSTITUTION, POPULATION, STUDENTS, COMMUNICATION, POLICY RESEARCH, LEGISLATORS, PERFORMANCE MEASURES, STRATEGY, PRIMARY EDUCATION, CHILD MORTALITY RATE, PUBLIC SERVICE, SECONDARY EDUCATION, INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS, IMPLEMENTATION, HEALTH SERVICES, TARGET, USES, QUALITY OF SERVICE, INNOVATIONS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/07/24814238/performance-agreements-help-improve-service-delivery-experience-brazilian-states https://hdl.handle.net/10986/22459
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