Publication: Cash Transfers Increase Trust in Local Government
Abstract
How does a locally-managed conditional
cash transfer program impact trust in government? On the one
hand, delivering monetary benefits and increasing
interactions with government officials (elected and
appointed) may increase trust. On the other hand, imposing
paternalistic conditions, leading some to experience
feelings of social stigma or guilt, and potentially
permitting capture by local elites could reduce trust. This
paper answers this question by exploiting the randomized
introduction of a locally-managed transfer program in
Tanzania in 2010, which included popular election of
community management committees to run the program. The
analysis reveals that cash transfers can significantly
increase trust in leaders. This effect is driven by large
increases in trust in elected leaders as opposed to
appointed bureaucrats. Perceptions of government
responsiveness to citizens' concerns and honesty of
leaders also rise; these improvements are largest where
there are more village meetings at baseline. One of the
central roles of village meetings is to receive and share
information with village residents. One indicator that
governance may have improved is that records from school and
health committees are more readily available in treatment
villages. Notably, while the stated willingness of citizens
to participate in community development projects rises,
actual participation in projects and the likelihood of
voting does not. Concerns that local management of a cash
transfer program will destroy trust in government or reduce
the quality of governance appear unfounded—especially in
high-information contexts.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Evans, David K.; Holtemeyer, Brian; Kosec, Katrina. 2018. Cash Transfers Increase Trust in Local Government. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8333. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29367 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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