The DOI matches its Crossref record.
Fighting Corruption to Improve Schooling: Evidence from a Newspaper Campaign in Uganda
Abstract
What are the most effective ways to increase primary school enrollment and student learning? We argue that innovations in governance of social services may yield the highest return since social service delivery in developing countries is often plagued by inefficiencies and corruption. We illustrate this by using data from an unusual policy experiment. A newspaper campaign in Uganda aimed at reducing capture of public funds by providing schools (parents) with information to monitor local officials' handling of a large education grant program. The campaign was highly successful and the reduction in capture had a positive effect on enrollment and student learning. (JEL: D73, I22, O12)
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“However, Reinikka and Svensson (2005) study a newspaper campaign in Uganda aimed at reducing capture of public funds by providing parents with the information needed to monitor how local officials' allocated education grants. This study finds a significant improvement in student enrollment and learning outcomes with community monitoring.”
From Why Do Developing Countries Tax So Little? (2014) · cites this paper as Reinikka and Svensson (2005)
Citations
Cites
No references could be resolved yet.
Research works printed but not linked: 11
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- 2004, Public Funding in the Educational Sector and Its Effect on Test Scores.
- 2003, Survey Tools for Assessing Performance in Service Delivery.
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- 2002, Textbooks and Test Scores: Evidence from a Prospective Evaluation in Kenya.
- 2004, Retrospective vs. Prospective Analyses of School Inputs: The Case of Flip Charts in Kenya., Journal of Development Economics, 74, 251, 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2003.12.010 · DOI
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- 2004, Local Capture: Evidence from a Central Government Transfer Program in Uganda., Quarterly Journal of Economics, 119, 679, 10.1162/0033553041382120 · DOI
- 2004, The Power of Information: Evidence from a Newspaper Campaign to Reduce Capture.
- 2004, School Subsidies for the Poor: Evaluating the Mexican PROGRESA Poverty Program., Journal of Development Economics, 74, 199, 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2003.12.009 · DOI
- World Bank, 1996, Access to Education and Health Care in Uganda.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Why Do Developing Countries Tax So Little?
Besley, T., & Persson, T. (2014) · Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/jep.28.4.99 · Cited by 819
Björkman, M., & Svensson, J. (2009) · Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1162/qjec.2009.124.2.735 · Cited by 739
“Reinikka and Svensson (2005a) also study the relationship between information, accountability, and outcomes at the provider level.”
InfluentialSelf-citationLights on the shadows of public procurement: Transparency as an antidote to corruption
Bauhr, M., Czibik, Á., de Fine Licht, J., & Fazekas, M. (2020) · Governance · doi:10.1111/gove.12432 · Cited by 131
Natural Resource Rents, Local Taxes, and Government Performance: Evidence from Colombia
Martínez, L. R. (2025) · Review of Economics and Statistics · doi:10.1162/rest_a_01324 · Cited by 112
Metadata
- Authors
- Reinikka, R., & Svensson, J.
- Affiliations
- World Bank (US)
- ORCID
- Svensson, Jakob
- Venue
- Journal of the European Economic Association
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2005-05-01
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 2-3
- Pages
- 259-267
- ISSN
- 1542-4766 (ISSN-L)
- 1542-4774
- OpenAlex
- W2024358613
- Cited by
- 719
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 47 · 2015: 51 · 2014: 55 · 2013: 52 · 2012: 48
- FWCI
- 61.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of the European Economic Association (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Corruption and Economic Development
- Social Sciences › Development › Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Local Government Finance and Decentralization
- Keywords
- corruption, primary school enrollment, student learning, education grants, social service delivery, newspaper campaigns, information provision, school monitoring, Uganda
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Fighting Corruption to Improve Schooling: Evidence from a Newspaper Campaign in Uganda. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1162/jeea.2005.3.2-3.259
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- Reinikka, R., & Svensson, J. (2005). Fighting Corruption to Improve Schooling: Evidence from a Newspaper Campaign in Uganda. Journal of the European Economic Association. https://doi.org/10.1162/jeea.2005.3.2-3.259
