Encouraging Service Delivery to the Poor Does Money Talk When Health Workers Are Pro-Poor?

This study uses a novel lab-in-the-field experiment with health care workers in rural Burkina Faso to investigate how payment mechanisms can incentivize providers to deliver healthcare services to the poor.  Importantly, it provides evidence that the effect of bonuses depends on the extra effort needed to serve the poor, and second, that it depends on the pro-poor preferences of health workers. Furthermore, addressing a gap in the literature on the contract preferences of pro-poor workers, this study shows that pro-poor individuals are sensitive to contract type, preferring flat pay over variable pay contracts.