Our new working paper "Skills vs voice" is out with Casey @tedmiguel & Voors.
We examine how well communities are able to harness the huge investments in human capital seen across much of Africa in last 20 yrs, using 2 RCTs in #SierraLeone.
nber.org/papers/w25022
We examine how well communities are able to harness the huge investments in human capital seen across much of Africa in last 20 yrs, using 2 RCTs in #SierraLeone.
nber.org/papers/w25022
Traditional chiefs & elders who have substantial power in #SierraLeone & elsewhere are unaccountable & unrepresentative. They are also old & much so less educated than others in community.
When faced with real life challenge, can they harness that skill for community's benefit?
When faced with real life challenge, can they harness that skill for community's benefit?
We find that when offered chance to win dev funds by writing grant proposal they fail to utilize the community's writing and budgeting skills.
In contrast, a simple test that reveals who has these skills and strong nudge to select them as manager produces better proposals.
In contrast, a simple test that reveals who has these skills and strong nudge to select them as manager produces better proposals.
Ie, communities are leaving money on the table because their traditional hierarchies fail to harness the skills of the young.
Interestingly the community responds to an outside nudge to delegate to the local (usually younger) technocrat.
Interestingly the community responds to an outside nudge to delegate to the local (usually younger) technocrat.
Communities that were part of intensive and long term experiment in Community Driven Development (CDD) were also unable to harness the skills within the community.
We did however find other positive impacts of CDD in our long term follow up.
We did however find other positive impacts of CDD in our long term follow up.
7yrs later we find persistent positive economic impacts from grant distributions to poor rural communities given out in wake of Sierra Leone's devastating civil war. There were more and better quality public goods and more traders operating ie more economic activity.
CDD was less successful in changing social institutions & encouraging inclusion and accountability. This is what we found in our earlier paper. Some said give it more time, we did.
Some of our impacts on institutions are statistically sig but magnitudes are not meaningful.
Some of our impacts on institutions are statistically sig but magnitudes are not meaningful.
My take on CDD: its a useful way to get out money especially in a post conflict environment when govt systems have failed.
The persistent econ effects are important (and may even beat individual cash).
But it does not change institutions.
The persistent econ effects are important (and may even beat individual cash).
But it does not change institutions.
That is a pity because institutions matter and the failure of institutions that rely on the old and the old ways are failing to benefit from the energy, skills, and managerial capability of a younger generation.
That is a major problem. END
That is a major problem. END
