Worker Satisfaction and Performance Pay: The Case of Child Care Workers in India
24 Pages Posted: 30 Sep 2013
Date Written: July 25, 2013
Abstract
Using data generated from a field experiment involving 145 day care centers with over 4,000 children aged 3 to 6 years old, we analyze the conditions creating the greatest positive change in work satisfaction under different service regimes. There were three treatment arms: a performance-based bonus on top of a fixed wage to a government child care worker in charge of running a day care center, an informational intervention on the demand-side, and a combination of the first two treatments – incentives to supply-side and information to demand-side. Results indicate that performance pay leads to higher work satisfaction only when information is also supplied to the demand-side, leading to more effective worker effort. We believe that these results will help in allocating public resources most effectively, making workers more satisfied and improving the quality of public services.
Keywords: Public Sector, Worker Satisfaction, Malnutrition, Performance Pay
JEL Classification: M54, J33, O12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation