Publication: Contracting for Public Services : Output-based Aid and Its Applications
Date
2001-08
ISSN
Published
2001-08
Author(s)
Brook, Penelope J.
Smith, Suzanne M.
Abstract
Access to good, reliable public services
is critical for the poor in developing countries if they are
to rise out of poverty. Safe water and sanitation, modern
energy and communications, good-quality basic education and
health services--all contribute directly to individual
well-being, and all improve economic opportunities for
low-income households. The primary challenge now is to
ensure that aid- and tax-funded spending reaches the poor,
that the services this money finances respond to their needs
and preferences, that these services are delivered
efficiently, and that public funds are used in a way that
leverages private financing of service delivery. The cases
gathered in this report tell of efforts to improve the
delivery of services by contracting out their provision and
linking the payment of subsidies to the delivery of services
to targeted groups--illustrating aspects of an approach that
the authors call "output-based aid." The cases
highlight varied attempts to sharpen the focus on the
objectives of aid and public spending, to improve incentives
for efficiency and innovation, to expand opportunities for
mobilizing private financing to meet social objectives, and
to enhance accountability in the use of pubic resources.
Citation
“Brook, Penelope J.; Smith, Suzanne M.. 2001. Contracting for Public Services : Output-based Aid and Its Applications. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/f10d59e9-6eb8-5296-9dc5-0afa6535accb License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”