Can Information Strengthen Local Governance of Schools? Evidence From Pakistan

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Abstract

To encourage the utilization of funds given to council members comprising of parents, the head-teacher and community members in primary and middle schools in Punjab, Pakistan, the provincial government spearheaded the School Council Mobilization Program (SCMP). A call center was hired to make regular calls to members to inform and mobilize them to spend money. Using administrative, test scores and call center data and a difference-in-differences estimation strategy, I find that SCMP schools spent 40 percent more funds than non-SCMP schools, but students in SCMP schools scored 1/10 standard deviations lower on tests than students in non-SCMP schools. The paper offers a discussion on the mechanisms, such as teacher behavior to explain the negative results of this large-scale intervention.

Author

• Minahil Asim, University of California - Davis