Abstract
Bureaucratic performance is a crucial determinant of economic growth, but little real-world evidence exists on how to improve it, especially in resource-constrained settings. We conducted a field experiment of a social recognition intervention to improve record keeping in health facilities in two Nigerian states, replicating the intervention – implemented by a single organization – on bureaucrats performing identical tasks. Social recognition improved performance in one state but had no effect in the other, highlighting both the potential benefits and also the sometimes-limited generalizability of behavioral interventions. Furthermore, differences in facility-level observables did not explain cross-state differences in impacts, suggesting that it may often be difficult to predict external validity.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 117-131 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes |
Volume | 163 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Applied Psychology
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Keywords
- Behavioral insights
- Bureaucracy
- External validity
- Healthcare
- Nudges
- RCT