Publication: Philippines: Can Subsidized Microloans Increase Toilet Ownership and Use for Poor Households?
Loading...
Date
2020-11
ISSN
Published
2020-11
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The World Bank’s Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund supported a randomized controlled trial from 2015-2018 to assess the extent to which subsidized microloans can enable households to build and use improved toilets. The loans, which carried zero interest, included toilet installation and were offered to poor beneficiaries who also received sanitation behavior change promotion as part of a social safety net program. The large financial subsidy led to modestly higher coverage of improved toilets, better toilet quality, and greater satisfaction, while the small subsidy did not improve access to improved sanitation. Among those who took out the subsidized loans, 59 percent already had improved toilets, which explains the limited effects on improved sanitation and open defecation. Overall, these findings suggest that subsidy programs hold promise, but need to be better targeted.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2020. Philippines: Can Subsidized Microloans Increase Toilet Ownership and Use for Poor Households?. From Evidence to Policy;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34897 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication Kenya(Washington, DC, 2022-10)Before the COVID pandemic, more than half of children in low and middle-income countries suffered from learning poverty: they either were out of school or failed to learn to read with comprehension by age 10. At the same time, numerous studies have documented serious challenges related to the quality of education services, particularly for those serving poor students. In a country like Kenya, for example, teachers exhibit low levels of content and pedagogical knowledge. Previous research has shown that highly structured teaching guides could improve literacy, but scripted lessons are not without critics, who worry that teachers will not be able to adapt content to student’s needs. In places where teachers may be less prepared to tailor high quality lessons to their students, however, scripting may offer a way to standardize a minimum level of quality at scale.Publication Rwanda(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-11)Children need a safe, nurturing, healthy, and stimulating environment to thrive and reach their full potential. But millions of children living in poverty don’t receive enough stimulation or good nutrition in their first years of life, and poverty also makes them more likely to experience neglect and violence in the home. Domestic violence, however, is rarely addressed in programs promoting young children’s development, which also typically focus on mothers, with little attention on fathers. Previous research suggests home-based parenting programs can lead to positive improvements in children’s brain development. Can these programs be adapted to address family violence as well Can these services be effectively delivered through government social safety net programs which often target poor, vulnerable familiesPublication India(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-07)In the first years of life, all children need healthy food, a clean environment, and stimulation to thrive and reach their full developmental potential. However, poverty prevents millions of young children in low- and middle-income countries from receiving adequate nutrition and stimulation. As a result, many disadvantaged children’s brain development lags behind that of their well-off peers, which can have lifelong consequences. Previous research from low-income settings has found that encouraging parents to play and interact more with their children can improve children’s brain development, with impacts that can last into adulthood. Delivering these parenting programs at scale and in a cost-effective manner, however, has been a challenge, in part because some of the most successful programs have been delivered through intensive and relatively costly home-based programs.Publication Armenia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04)More people around the world are dying from noncommunicable diseases than ever before. These diseases, which include cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and heart disease, prematurely kill more than 15 million people between ages 30 and 69 each year. Many of these health conditions also make individuals more susceptible to severe forms of other diseases like Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study targeted adults between the ages of 35 and 68 in Armenia who had not been screened in the preceding year. The baseline data suggests this population was not economically secure: half of participants responded that their income was sufficient for basic family needs, such as food, clothing, and utilities, but not enough for big purchases like a car, while 35 percent responded that their income is sufficient for everyday food but not for clothes and other basic needs. More than half of those in the study were unemployed. This research finds that conditional incentives and personalized invitations can substantially increase screening for diabetes and hypertension for those who haven’t been recently screened. Further research may be needed to evaluate these interventions at scale.Publication Rwanda(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-01)Performance pay for teachers generates debate. Proponents argue that many school systems have low levels of accountability and advocate incentivizing teachers by linking their pay to either their own efforts or their students’ learning. Critics, however, raise concerns that performance pay attracts people to the teaching workforce who are in it for the money and can diminish the intrinsic motivation to teach among teachers already in classrooms.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Sanitation Finance in Rural Cambodia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-02)This document presents the findings of a study on sanitation finance in Cambodia conducted for the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The overall objective of the assignment was to consider sustainable sanitation financing options with a focus on promoting access for the poorest. This guidance note contains an introduction on sanitation financing and subsidies, stating the cases for subsidies as well as some of their practical pitfalls. The study used data (as of late 2009) from two case studies of rural sanitation finance in Cambodia to illustrate the practical issues, sup-plemented by preliminary data from two sanitation marketing projects. The study also examined the potential use and effectiveness of (hardware) subsidies, conditional cash transfers (CCTs), and other financing approaches relevant for sanitation improvement. The document ends with recommendations for improved sanitation finance, including practical suggestions for sanitation programs in Cambodia. These recommendations bear particular relevance for the ADB's Second Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project, which commenced in 2010.Publication Support to Rural Sanitation Scale Up Under the Philippine National Sustainable Sanitation Plan(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-05)This report summarizes the results and lessons learned from the Technical Assistance (TA) Support to Rural Sanitation Scale Up under the Philippine National Sustainable Sanitation Plan. The TA was carried out by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program from July 2012 to March 2016, and is part of a larger programmatic assistance by the Bank to the Government of the Philippines in framing relevant institutional and financial reforms by key sector agencies and in strengthening the government’s capacity to accelerate delivery of basic water and sanitation services particularly to the poor. This synthesis report provides recommendations to consolidate and accelerate the scaling up rural sanitation initiative focusing on priorities for World Bank engagement and alignment with the incoming government’s overall strategic direction.Publication Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Cambodia : A Five-Country Study Conducted in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Vietnam Under the Economics of Sanitation Initiative(Jakarta, 2008-02)The sanitation impact study, initiated by the World Bank water and sanitation program, aims to generate sound evidence on the negative impacts of existing sanitation and hygiene conditions and the potential benefits of improvements in sanitation and hygiene in Cambodia. In this study, quantitative assessment is conducted on the economic impacts of poor sanitation and hygiene on health, water resource, tourism and other welfare impacts. In addition to the quantitative evaluation, the study also discusses the effects of poor sanitation on various qualitative dimensions including health-related quality of life, intangible user preferences, life decisions, and the quality of the surrounding environment. The analysis focused on a narrow definition of sanitation, related to human excreta. However, there were instances in which sanitation as it relates to gray water and solid waste were also included. In measuring the impacts, the study uses a peer-reviewed methodology developed specifically for this study, which draws on established methods and, where these do not exist, develops new approaches to capture the impacts of poor sanitation. For improving policy interpretation of the results, the study distinguishes between financial and economic impacts, and presents for rural/urban areas and different geographical groupings at zonal level. Overall, the study finds that poor sanitation leads to economic losses. These economic losses are equivalent to 7.2 percent of the Cambodia's Gross Domestic product (GDP) in 2005. This amount is roughly equivalent to the contribution of the fishery sector, to the GDP, or twice the contribution of the forestry sector.Publication Financing On-Site Sanitation for the Poor : A Six-Country Comparative Review and Analysis(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-01)The present study offers evidence on alternative financing approaches for on-site household sanitation from case studies in six countries: Bangladesh, Ecuador, India, Mozambique, Senegal, and Vietnam. This evidence can help identify the best-performing approaches and the relevant factors and issues to consider in designing a sanitation financing strategy. The study systematically compares alternative financing approaches based on a set of common indicators, including in terms of the effectiveness in the use of public funds and targeting. The team chose to focus on those projects recognized as successes to obtain a reasonable representation of the better practices in sanitation programs. The study identified a number of useful examples and tentative lessons about finance which should help to advance the design of sanitation finance at the outset of a project. Replicating such experiences will require a better understanding of what drives household investment and what the key constraints limiting such investment are, in both financial and non-financial terms. The sanitation challenge continues to grow with population, as does the cost of failing to meet it. This study is a worthwhile contribution to addressing the challenge of how to pay for sanitation.Publication Nicaragua : Ex-Post Impact Evaluation of the Emergency Social Investment Fund(Washington, DC, 2000-12-07)The Emergency Social Investment Fund (FISE) ex-post impact evaluation, is one of the first to be carried out on a social fund since the introduction of these mechanisms, a decade ago. Through strong impact evaluation methodologies, the report provides empirical evidence regarding FISE's success in reaching poor households, and contributing to their human capital formation, and provides as well, insights into communities interactions with FISE, and the quality of publicly provided social services that have received a FISE investment. The evaluation makes use of data sources, such as the Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS), FISE Household Surveys, and FISE Facilities Survey, as well as from the qualitative beneficiary assessment, instruments which allow an integrated evaluation on assessment of poverty targeting, and household impact. Based on social sectors results, recommendations for FISE operations, its work with others, and its monitoring system, suggest increased community participation at the subproject level, including a revision on the balance between social sector infrastructure investments, and, replacement, rehabilitation, and expansion of existing infrastructure. FISE's coordination with other institutions should be strengthened, to forge stronger community links, and, to balance decentralization, and strategic planning, while complementing infrastructure supply, with demand-side interventions, through direct household contacts. Finally, the link between LSMS and the FISE evaluation should be maintained, to compare alternative interventions, strengthening monitoring and evaluation activities.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Enterprise Surveys(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-12)The Enterprise Surveys (ES) focus on many aspects of the business environment. These factors can be accommodating or constraining for firms and play an important role in whether an economy’s private sector will thrive or not. Questions contained in the ES aim at covering most of the topics mentioned above. The topics include infrastructure, trade, finance, regulations, taxes and business licensing, corruption, crime and informality, access to finance, innovation, labor, and perceptions about obstacles to doing business. This document summarizes the results of the Enterprise Survey for Paraguay. Business owners and top managers in 364 firms were interviewed between February and August 2017. The report provides a description of the sample breakdown across the three survey design categories: business sector, firm size, and location.Publication The New Microfinance Handbook : A Financial Market System Perspective(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-02)The new microfinance handbook provides a primer on financial services for the poor. It is written for a wide audience, including practitioners, facilitators, policy makers, regulators, investors, and donors working to improve the financial system, but who are relatively new to the sector. It will also be useful for telecommunication companies and other support service providers, students and academics, and consultants and trainers. Although this book is in part an update of the original handbook, the growth of the sector and the complexity of the financial market system have led to a perspective much broader than the previous 'financial and institutional perspective.' As a result, additional chapters have been added to address issues more relevant than when the original handbook was written. To reflect this complexity, the author invited a number of experts to write many of the new chapters. In addition, given that this book does not go into as much detail as the previous book did, a list of key resources at the end of each chapter provides readers additional information on specific topics. Finally, although the title still uses the term microfinance, the book very much addresses the wider financial ecosystem, moving beyond the traditional meaning of microfinance to inclusive financial systems.Publication An Overview of Agricultural Pollution in Vietnam(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017)Vietnamese agriculture has experienced remarkable growth over the past twenty years. Today, however, Vietnamese agriculture is edging toward the limits of a growth model rooted more in the intensification of production systems featuring heavy use of labor, chemicals, and natural resources than in efficiency or value addition gains. Agricultural growth is decelerating and Vietnam’s competitiveness as a provider of bulk, undifferentiated commodities is flagging as the agricultural sector faces rising competition for labor, land, and other resources. The environmental fallout from intensification has also begun to adversely impact productivity and the position of Vietnam’s commodities in international markets. If it is to fulfill its ambitions and remain a motor of economic development, Vietnam’s agriculture will need to start producing More from Less. In this regard, tackling agricultural pollution represents a key challenge for Vietnam. Pollution has started to take a toll on the sector’s own resource base, potentially impacting soil fertility and yields, the effectiveness of chemicals in combating pests and disease, farmer health and productivity, environmental health, and the safety of food. Growing evidence and public concern about pollution have led the Vietnamese government to adopt a new outlook and to take measures to address the problem. The research upon which this summary report is based represents the first attempt to assemble existing evidence on the nature and magnitude of agricultural pollution in Vietnam, looking across the livestock, aquaculture, and crops subsectors. It is also an attempt to shed light on the socioeconomic impacts and drivers of agricultural pollution, including the shortcomings of existing policies and programs to reign in the problem.Publication The Political Economy of Targeted Safety Nets(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01)To be successful, Social Safety Net (SSN) programs require three elements of policy design: technical correctness, administrative feasibility and political viability; yet the politically supportable aspect is often neglected. In this note, several features of political economy applicable to the choice, design, and implementation of safety net programs are discussed: modeling the electoral politics of targeting; the roles of attitudes and perceptions; centralized versus localized control; internal and organizational politics, and finally, politics and the different social objectives of safety ropes and safety nets. The note discusses the political viability of any SSN program, profoundly influenced by corruption and the perceptions of horizontal equity, process and administrative fairness, and effectiveness. Corruption subverts all three perceptions, and so is especially damaging to political support. Moreover, changes in the average poverty rate mask enormous "churning" as households move in and out of poverty. This volatility creates the demand not just for transfer programs to those whose incomes are chronically low (safety nets), but also for insurance-like programs that would pay off not only when income was absolutely low, but also when households experienced negative shocks (safety ropes). While safety "nets" seek to minimize income or expenditure poverty, the objective of safety "ropes" is to mitigate risk. If the targeting of social programs is judged exclusively on poverty or benefit incidence based on a cross sectional snapshot, then risk mitigation programs benefiting households who have suffered large shocks, but who are not "poor" may appear to have large "leakage" when in fact they are simply serving an alternative social objective. While a "safety net" program might be more popular, the more effectively it transfers from richer to poorer households, a "safety rope" program might cause little net redistribution, but be popular because it serves an important insurance function.Publication Kyrgyz Republic - Joint World Bank-IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-07)The joint World Bank/IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) has been prepared in the context of the 2019 Article IV Consultation, for the first time based on the revised framework for low-income countries. Results indicate moderate risk of debt distress for both external and overall public debt. However, the debt outlook remains vulnerable, especially to a deceleration in real GDP and exports growth and the depreciation of the KGS. To address these vulnerabilities, the authorities need to remain cautious when contracting and guaranteeing new debt, maintain fiscal discipline, improve public investment management, and continue improving the business environment to maintain the export potential of the country after the main gold mine will close in 2026.