Main Findings

Summaries of the findings from each of our individual projects follow below. Looking across these, and across our work during the past decade on service delivery and Direct Benefit Transfer in India, two major themes stand out.

First, the details of how technology is deployed matter. For example, while “biometric authentication” is now a standard and standardized technology, we find that it had substantially different effects when introduced into the NREGS and the pension scheme in Andhra Pradesh as opposed to the Public Distribution System in Jharkhand. We think that this reflects the fact that the effects of new technology depend on the specific rules governing how it will be used - for example, what happens to a beneficiary who has not been able to authenticate, or what happens to a ration shop dealer who has not disbursed all the grain he was given. Further, the program design in AP emphasized improving the beneficiary experience over fiscal savings, whereas that in Jharkhand emphasized fiscal savings.  Correspondingly, in AP, the government did not save money, but leakage reductions were passed on to beneficiaries, who received more benefits.  In contrast, in Jharkhand, the government saved money (and leakage also went down), but some of these savings came at the cost of exclusion errors. 

Second, it is essential to directly measure beneficiary experiences. Administrative records do not always tell the same story as information gathered directly from beneficiaries, which is what ultimately matters. Moreover, simply measuring beneficiary experiences and using this information to report on how well front-line officials are doing at delivering basic services can lead to substantial improvements at low cost, as for example, we found in our work with the State of Telangana on the implementation of its Rythu Bandhu Scheme. Giving beneficiaries choices, as in our evaluation of choice-based DBT in Maharashtra, can also be an effective way to learn about beneficiary experiences and promote beneficiary-centric design. 

Impacts of biometric authentication on the NREGS and pension scheme in Andhra Pradesh

This project examined the effects of introducing biometric authentication into the payment process for NREGS participants and pension recipients in Andhra Pradesh (prior to its division into AP and Telangana). The authentication technology used (“Smartcards”) was a precursor to Aadhaar, but with important differences in the protocols used. Using a large-scale experimental evaluation, we found that the rollout of this reform (i) increased payments received by program beneficiaries without changing the amounts of money disbursed by government, (ii) did not significantly change measures of beneficiaries' access to the programs, and (iii) had large ripple effects on the rural economy more broadly, raising rural incomes by increasing both private sector wages and employment. 

Key characteristics:

Publications

(Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar) - Under review - Current Draft (Apr'20) - Online Appendix - NBER WP #23838(Karthik Muralidharan and Paul Niehaus) - Journal of Economic Perspectives 31(4), Fall 2017, pp. 103-24. (Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar) - American Economic Review, 2016, Vol. 106, No 10, pp. 2895-2929.
(Piali Mukhopadhyay, Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar) , Implementation Report, 2013

AEA Registry | Replication Data | Policy Briefcase | Media Coverage | more details


funded through an independent research grant provided by Omidyar Network

Service delivery performance in Direct Benefit Transfer in the Public Distribution System 

This project measured quality of implementation and beneficiary experiences during the Government of India’s pilots of Direct Benefit Transfers in lieu of food rations provided through the Public Distribution System in three Union Territories. We found that (i) implementation quality improved over time but remained a non-trivial challenge, with only ~⅔ of beneficiaries reporting that they received their benefits; (ii) beneficiary preference for DBT similarly increased over time, from ~35% of recipients to ~65% of recipients; (iii) the time and money cost of accessing and using DBT was higher than the cost of collecting PDS ration for those who used banks, but lower for those who used ATMs; and (iv) many beneficiaries were simply not aware that funds had been deposited in accounts in their name.  Based on these findings, we suggested increased use of high-frequency monitoring of beneficiary experiences using mobile phones, and use of choice-based designs for future reforms to protect beneficiaries from potential adverse harms during initial rollout.  

Key characteristics:

Policy Paper

(Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar), NITI Report, 2017
funded through an independent research grant provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Impacts of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication in the Public Distribution System

This project evaluated the effects of requiring Aadhaar-based biometric authentication (ABBA) on the delivery of India’s largest social protection program, the Public Distribution System. We found that ABBA per se (i) did not change leakages, (ii) modestly increased transaction costs for beneficiaries on average, and (iii) substantially reduced benefits received for the minority of beneficiaries who had not linked (or “seeded”) their Aadhaar ID to the program database at baseline. Using the transaction data generated by biometric authentication to reconcile shipments of grain to Fair Price Shops did induce  a large reduction in leakage, but also a significant reduction in benefits received by ration card holders. These results highlight the potential trade-offs between reducing corruption and protecting the entitlements of legitimate beneficiaries.    

Key characteristics:

Publications:

(Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar) - Current draft (Aug'20)  - NBER WP #26744  (Karthik Muralidharan,Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar) ) - Hindustan Times, February 16, 2020 | print version

AEA Registry | Replication Data | Policy Briefcase | Media Coverage 


funded through an independent research grant provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Monitoring last-mile payment delivery remotely by phone

This project examined the impact of a cell phone-based monitoring system on the delivery of government-issued payments to farmers through the Rythu Bandhu Scheme in Telangana, India. We randomly informed 25% of the state’s frontline workers responsible for the disbursement of funds about the monitoring system and used a call center to reach out to farmers and collect information about their payments. Information from the calls and detailed administrative records were used to determine whether and when farmers received payments and consequently measure frontline worker performance. We found that phone-based monitoring (i) increased the likelihood of farmers receiving payments with the largest effect seen for farmers with the smallest landholdings (ii) increased the likelihood of farmers receiving payments in time to buy agricultural inputs for the planting season. We are now working with several state governments to apply this approach to measuring and improving last-mile service delivery in additional schemes.

Key characteristics:

Publications

(Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, Sandip Sukhtankar, and Jeff Weaver) -  American Economics Journal: Applied Economics (Forthcoming) - Current Draft (Jan'20) - NBER WP #25298

AEA Registry | Replication Data | Policy Briefcase | Media Coverage | more details           


funded through independent research grants provided by Word Bank's Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Work in Progress

Impacts of cash transfers for early childhood health and nutrition 

This project is measuring the impact of cash transfers to pregnant women and lactating mothers on the health of their children as measured by the incidence of stunting and wasting, among other indicators. The transfers, which are being implemented by the Government of Jharkhand in eight districts, are unconditional in the sense that eligible mothers do not need to take additional steps after registering for the program in order to receive them, and framed in the sense that mothers are told the transfers are intended to help them feed themselves and their babies, and accompanied by information about how to purchase and prepare nutritious food. The project aims to inform ongoing discussion about how best to improve mother and child nutrition outcomes, and in particular the debate whether to provide cooked meals at anganwadi centers, take-home rations, or cash transfers.  

Key characteristics:


AEA Registry | Replication Data | Policy Briefcase | Media Coverage


funded through independent research grants provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and J-PAL's Catch Initiative

Choice-based DBT in Mumbai’s Public Distribution System 

This project is evaluating the take-up and impact of a reform giving beneficiaries in the Public Distribution System the choice to receive Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in lieu of their monthly ration each month. This approach is intended to de-risk the process of reform by reducing the chance that beneficiaries lose access to benefits due to implementation issues, while also generating direct feedback on which of the two proposed policy options (food or cash) beneficiaries themselves prefer. The project will also measure the impacts of providing beneficiaries with this choice on food consumption and nutrition outcomes. It builds on earlier pilot studies conducted with the governments of Bihar and of Rajasthan in which preferences varied widely, with 22% to 86% of beneficiary households opting for cash at least once as opposed to food depending on the context and time period. 

Key characteristics:

Publications:

(Karthik Muralidharan, Paul Niehaus, and Sandip Sukhtankar), Pilot Report, 2011

AEA Registry | Replication Data | Policy Briefcase | Media Coverage


funded through an independent research grant provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Evaluating Direct Benefit Transfer in Electricity Scheme for Farmers 

This project is evaluating the impact of a Direct Benefit Transfer for Electricity scheme in Punjab and Rajasthan, India. The scheme is being implemented jointly with the power corporations of each state and being evaluated by a research team led by Nicholas Ryan and Anant Sudarshan. The scheme replaces per unit subsidies for agricultural electricity with fixed cash entitlements payable to farmers. Farmers earn money if they consume less than the entitlement, giving them an incentive to conserve power. By providing this incentive, the scheme also aims to help reduce excess groundwater usage. The evaluation studies the impact of the scheme on (i) power consumption (ii) conservation of groundwater (iii) crop diversification and (iv) other farmer welfare outcomes, as well as drawing lessons for and insights into implementation. 

Key characteristics


AEA Registry | Replication Data | Policy Briefcase | Media Coverage


funded through an independent research grant provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Monitoring delivery of social welfare programs in Delhi by phone 

This project is designing and testing systems for measuring service delivery and beneficiary experiences in the Public Distribution System and the Mohalla Clinics in the NCT-Delhi region. It builds on our past experiences using phone-based monitoring as a cost-effective way to generate high-frequency data to improve frontline service delivery. We will place outbound calls to thousands of beneficiaries on a monthly basis and use the data to generate report cards for individual service delivery units, designed to identify unit-level service delivery issues and to help motivate frontline staff. 

Key characteristics

AEA Registry | Replication Data | Policy Briefcase | Media Coverage


funded through independent research grants provided by Word Bank's Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

High Frequency Monitoring of the Public Distribution System in Odisha 

This project is designing and testing whether sharing information and setting incentives with block-level government officials (called as 'Marketing Inspectors' or MIs) responsible for the smooth functioning of the Public Distribution System (PDS) affects the functioning of the PDS program in Odisha. It builds on our past experiences in Telangana and Delhi, of using phone-based monitoring as a cost-effective way to generate high-frequency data to improve frontline service delivery. We are placing outbound calls to thousands of beneficiaries on a monthly basis through Government of Odisha's call center. We use this data to generate report cards for MIs, who serve as participants for this study. We will also be validating the results from these phone surveys with validation exercises in the field. 

Key characteristics

AEA Registry | Replication Data | Policy Briefcase | Media Coverage


funded through the Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Department, Government of Odisha and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation