Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia

Remote areas are often characterized by lower welfare outcomes due to economic disadvantages and higher transaction costs for trade. But their poorer situation may also be linked to worse public service delivery. Relying on large household surveys in rural Ethiopia, we explore this by assessing the...

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Main Authors: Abate, Gashaw T., Dereje, Mekdim, Hirvonen, Kalle, Minten, Bart
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142960
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author Abate, Gashaw T.
Dereje, Mekdim
Hirvonen, Kalle
Minten, Bart
author_browse Abate, Gashaw T.
Dereje, Mekdim
Hirvonen, Kalle
Minten, Bart
author_facet Abate, Gashaw T.
Dereje, Mekdim
Hirvonen, Kalle
Minten, Bart
author_sort Abate, Gashaw T.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Remote areas are often characterized by lower welfare outcomes due to economic disadvantages and higher transaction costs for trade. But their poorer situation may also be linked to worse public service delivery. Relying on large household surveys in rural Ethiopia, we explore this by assessing the association of two measures of remoteness – (1) the distance of service centers to district capitals and (2) the distance of households to service centers (the last mile) – with public service delivery in agriculture and health sectors. In the agriculture sector, we document statistically significant and economically meaningful associations between exposure to agriculture extension and the two measures of remoteness. For health extension, only the last mile matters. These differences between the two sectors could be due to the fact that more remote villages tend to have fewer agriculture extension workers who also put in fewer hours than their peers in more connected areas. This does not apply in the health sector. These findings provide valuable inputs for policymakers aiming to improve inclusiveness in poor rural areas.
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spelling CGSpace1429602024-10-25T07:53:29Z Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia Abate, Gashaw T. Dereje, Mekdim Hirvonen, Kalle Minten, Bart agricultural extension economic development policies health extension systems geography public services rural areas Remote areas are often characterized by lower welfare outcomes due to economic disadvantages and higher transaction costs for trade. But their poorer situation may also be linked to worse public service delivery. Relying on large household surveys in rural Ethiopia, we explore this by assessing the association of two measures of remoteness – (1) the distance of service centers to district capitals and (2) the distance of households to service centers (the last mile) – with public service delivery in agriculture and health sectors. In the agriculture sector, we document statistically significant and economically meaningful associations between exposure to agriculture extension and the two measures of remoteness. For health extension, only the last mile matters. These differences between the two sectors could be due to the fact that more remote villages tend to have fewer agriculture extension workers who also put in fewer hours than their peers in more connected areas. This does not apply in the health sector. These findings provide valuable inputs for policymakers aiming to improve inclusiveness in poor rural areas. 2020-12-01 2024-05-22T12:11:24Z 2024-05-22T12:11:24Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142960 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133338 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133429 Open Access Elsevier Abate, Gashaw T.; Dereje, Mekdim; Hirvonen, Kalle; and Minten, Bart. 2020. Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia. World Development 136(December 2020): 105133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105133
spellingShingle agricultural extension
economic development
policies
health
extension systems
geography
public services
rural areas
Abate, Gashaw T.
Dereje, Mekdim
Hirvonen, Kalle
Minten, Bart
Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia
title Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia
title_full Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia
title_fullStr Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia
title_short Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia
title_sort geography of public service delivery in rural ethiopia
topic agricultural extension
economic development
policies
health
extension systems
geography
public services
rural areas
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142960
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AT derejemekdim geographyofpublicservicedeliveryinruralethiopia
AT hirvonenkalle geographyofpublicservicedeliveryinruralethiopia
AT mintenbart geographyofpublicservicedeliveryinruralethiopia