Effect of Capacity in Delivery of Urban Services

The delivery of public services in many developing countries is very poor. The literature has focused the lack of incentives for officials to perform adequately. However, a significant challenge to the delivery of public services might be the lack of capacity of those ultimately responsible. It is therefore important to measure the relative importance of inadequate capacity in the delivery of public service. This pilot study aims to determine the relevant dimensions of capacity as well as measure the relative effect of capacity in the delivery of public services in Lahore city in Pakistan via an intervention. The pilot will be run in close collaboration with policy actors, especially the Government of Punjab. The subsequent step will be the design of an intervention to mitigate the effects of lack of capacity which will ultimately be taken to policy.