Worker Collective Action and Public Service Delivery: Experimental Evidence from India

A large literature points to the fact that the design of citizens' participatory mechanisms is a critical factor in determining their success in improving public service delivery. We evaluate the impact of a novel participatory institution, the creation of informal workers’ groups in villages of Bihar in India. We partner with a local organization that mobilizes marginalized casual-wage workers to collectively demand public workfare benefits under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS; commonly “NREGA”) from local government and randomize the formation of such groups across 127 villages. We measure impacts using rich administrative datasets and primary surveys. In addition to the literature on designing collective action institutions, this study sheds light on how workfare programs affect rural labor markets and women’s participation and empowerment.