Incentivizing administrative work through social recognition programs and ceremonies increased recordkeeping accuracy by 18% in a program in Ekiti, Nigeria. Motivating Public Sector In the social recognition experiment, carried out over an eight-week period, an enumerator scored Workers in Nigeria workers on how well a cash book had been filled out. The scores were converted to stars and displayed for visitors to see. In addition, the accounting staff Accounting and auditing tasks can be important of the best performing facility were honored by the bulwarks against corruption – if they are effectively Secretary of Health andhad a photograph taken with implemented. But many bureaucratic tasks, including the official in a special ceremony. resource tracking, are considered minor, repetitive, and trivial by politicians and employees alike. In the lottery experiment, each star was converted Providing appropriate financial or social incentives into a lottery ticket that would be drawn at the end to workers is crucial in Nigeria, where 38% of public of a four-week period. This incentive took advantage sector projects never start, and only 31% finish. of the human tendency to overestimate the likelihood of small, favorable probabilities. The Project As part of a larger World Bank-sponsored Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS), which recorded Effective bureaucracies are information on resource flows in real time, we tested two behavioral incentives – social recognition and lottery crucial for economic growth tickets. They were designed to improve record keeping and poverty reduction. related to the uses and sources of funds in 140 randomly- selected health facilities in Ekiti and Niger states. The Results Social incentives can work, but the context is crucial. The impact of social incentives may depend % EKITI STATE RESULTS Social recognition motivated individual bureaucrats on human capital. 70 80 90 100 to perform 13pp better in Ekiti (equivalent to an 18% Ekiti outperforms Niger in several social indicators, increase), but made no difference in Niger. The lottery including the quality of vital statistics, live births 13pp incentive showed no impact in Niger while it was attended by skilled personnel, adult literacy, and inconclusive in Ekiti. immunization rates. Health personnel are also better educated. The different results between the states 60 The experiment suggests that the same incentives can may mean that the social recognition incentive 20 30 40 50 produce different results in different localities, even when the implementing agency is the same. In both requires higher levels of training and organization states, the health service interventions were led and by health officials in order to be effective. driven by a single federal ministry of health organized under the same bureaucracy and the same general 10 incentive structure. 0 No treatment Social Recognition SOCIAL RECOGNITION EFFECTS Score on cash book form % EKITI STATE RESULTS % NIGER STATE RESULTS 70 80 90 100 70 80 90 100 13pp No detectable difference 60 60 20 30 40 50 20 30 40 50 10 10 0 0 No treatment Social Recognition No treatment Social Recognition Policy Implications As eMBeD’s research shows, policy makers can look to behavioral science for potential policy improvements Policy makers that seem intractable but essential, including improving essential bureaucratic inputs. Social incentives can can look to behavioral motivate public officials to complete low-profile, low- science for potential policy salience tasks, such as bookkeeping. But they do not work in every circumstance. Testing and adaption are required improvements that seem to see where they work and to tailor the social incentives intractable but essential. to the economic and social environment. About eMBeD The Mind, Behavior, and Development Unit (eMBeD), the World Bank’s behavioral science team in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice, works closely with project teams, governments, and other partners to diagnose, design, and evaluate behaviorally informed interventions. By collaborating with a worldwide network of scientists and practitioners,  the eMBeD team provides answers to important economic and social questions, and contributes to the global effort to eliminate poverty and enhance equity. Stay Connected eMBeD@worldbank.org #embed_wb worldbank.org/embed bit.ly/eMBeDNews