Marcos Vera, professor at department of Economics from University College Londonpresented at a seminar of the Navarra Center for International Development his article "Managerial Incentives in Public Service Delivery. Evidence from School-Based Nutrition Programs in Rural China".

The research, developed thanks to the work joint venture of Stanford University, University of Maryland y Chinese Academy of Sciencesgoal was to study the effectiveness of incentives and subsidies for school principals in rural China. Specifically, it focused on combating anemia. The top managers of 170 schools participated.

The grants were non-binding: the funds could be used for any activity, not just a program to improve nutrition and combat anemia among students. The grants were disbursed in two installments, one at the beginning and one in the middle.

More efficiency with smaller subsidies

The data revealed that incentives were more effective when school principals received a lower subsidy . In that sense, effectiveness was significantly reduced the higher the subsidy. The researcher explained that these results may conflict with the perception of incentives.

"Generally speaking, our results suggest that those may alter how the work tasks or outcomes that the program entails are attributed to school administrators," he said. He further indicated that principals may be less interested in implementing it because of the risk that it will fail and that will affect their professional degree program .

Finally, Vera stressed that "the educational system in the countries at development must be even more prepared than the health services".