Institutional determinants of the impact of community-based water services: evidence from Sri Lanka and India
Isham, J.; Kahkonen, S.
Economic Development and Cultural Change 50(3): 667-691
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0013-0079 DOI: 10.1086/342357Document Number: 245439
Using quantitative and qualitative data from 1088 rural households and 50 water committees, this study investigates how service rules and practices, social capital, and governmental and non-governmental organization institutions affect the impact and performance of community-based water services supported by three projects in Sri Lanka and India. The results suggest that one can promote well-designed services (i.e., increase user satisfaction with the service design) by involving community members in the design process and by letting community members, not outsiders, make the final decision about the service type. Ensuring that communities have effective mechanisms to monitor household contributions to construction is, in turn, an effective way to promote well-constructed services. However, household participation in service design and the ability to design and enforce monitoring mechanisms are not automatic. The empirical results suggest that in communities with high levels of social capital (in particular, with active community groups and associations), design participation is more likely to be high and monitoring mechanisms are more likely to be in place.