How do CKWs respond to performance – based incentives? The case of Ugandan Community Knowledge Workers

Gilot, Anne Catherine

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/88287 Copy

Description

Title

How do CKWs respond to performance – based incentives? The case of Ugandan Community Knowledge Workers

Author(s)

Gilot, Anne Catherine

Issue Date

2015-07-16

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

McNamara, Paul E.

Department of Study

Agricultural & Consumer Economics

Discipline

Agricultural & Applied Economics

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Agricultural Extension Services
• Community Knowledge Workers
• Performance-Based Incentives
• Labor Supply
• Uganda
• Bunching

Abstract

This paper analyses the response of agricultural extension workers to incentives generated by a Grameen Foundation-sponsored extension program. The effectiveness of extension services in agricultural development has been a subject of debates over a considerable period. However, it is acknowledged that access and transfer of agricultural knowledge and technology are critical in developing agriculture and improving food security, especially in rural areas of developing countries. This is the area in which extension workers play a role: they are the main actors in the delivery of agricultural services to rural and remote communities. Using data from an extension project in Uganda, this study examines the performance of 440 Community Knowledge Workers (CKWs) based on the incentive structure established by the Grameen Foundation. It was found that after inflation adjustments, an average increase of 47% of the original salary pay resulted in an average increase of approximately 9% in the productivity level of CKWs and it reduced the presence of poor performers. The poor performance of public civil servants has raised some concerns in the past and some argue that the lack of effective incentives and low levels of job satisfaction in government outreach and extension programs could be a factor. This study was conducted to provide quantitative evidence on incentive effects and its results enable a better understanding of how CKWs can be adequately incentivized. A discussion of the appropriate investments and design that could be adapted in agricultural extension programs in the sub-Saharan African setting is also incorporated in this analysis.

Graduation Semester

2015-8

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/88287

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2015 Anne Gilot

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