Do Performance Agreements Help Improve Service Delivery? : The Experience of Brazilian States

Vinuela, Lorena ; Zoratto, Laura

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: SANITATION;    WORKFORCE;    BASIC EDUCATION;    ECONOMIC GROWTH;    FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7375
RP-ID  :  WPS7375

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

A growing number of states andmunicipalities in Brazil rely on results-based management,and many other local and state governments are consideringadopting the practice. This paper examines the experiencesof the Brazilian states that have implemented resultsagreements linked to variable pay. The analysis comparescurrent with pre-intervention outcomes in the education,health, and security sectors. The changes are examined inrelation to regional trends to determine whether theimprovements depart in meaningful ways from the overalltrend. In addition, a truncated time-series cross-sectionmodel is used to control for several additional factorsinfluencing service delivery outcomes. The results suggestthat, at least in the short and medium term, theimplementation of results agreements is associated withsignificant and positive changes in outcomes in the securityand education sectors. On average, states using team-leveltargets and performance-related pay have 15 fewer homicidesper 100,000 inhabitants than those that do not, all elseequal. Similarly, states that have introduced performanceagreements and a bonus for teachers and school staff haveimproved their Basic Education Development Index score forpublic secondary schools by 0.3 additional points comparedwith the scores of states with similar characteristics. Theconclusions are in line with the findings of in-depth impactevaluations and case study work in the education andsecurity sectors (Bruns, Evans and Luque 2011, Milagres deAssis 2012). The paper does not analyze unit or team leveldata, which would be necessary to draw more rigorousconclusions about how results-based interventions affect thebehavior of civil servants and outcomes over time.Therefore, the results should be interpreted with caution,as some of the assumptions behind the models cannot beexamined with the available data.