Bottom-up accountability and public service provision: evidence from a field experiment in Brazil

Abstract

Does grassroots participation improve public service delivery? We study the e ect of a mobile phone application that allows citizens to monitor school construction projects in Brazilian municipalities. The app provides a platform where users can submit photos of construction sites, consult independent engineers, and contact the mayor’s o ce about project delays. Our results show that the app has a null impact on the school construction outcomes. Additionally, we nd that politicians are unresponsive to individual requests. The results question the impact of local monitoring on public service performance and suggest that interventions targeted at other groups may produce better policy outcomes.