Zahra Mansoor
Welcome – I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Public Policy at the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol.
I work in close collaboration with governments in low- and middle-income countries across South Asia and Africa to answer research questions pertaining to service delivery, policy implementation, civil service reform, and evidence-based decision making. My research has been funded by the International Growth Center (IGC), Economic Development Institutions (EDI), World Bank, and the University of Oxford.
Research Interests
I answer research questions that are important academic puzzles but also equally important to policymakers such as: how can public sector organisations improve the performance of bureaucrats through financial and non-financial incentives? Why are governments often unable to implement policy reforms despite best laid plans, and what can governments do about this? How do system-level civil service policies affect day-to-day functioning and performance of bureaucrats?
I use experimental and quasi experimental methods to answer my questions of interest, while drawing on data from large-scale surveys and administrative data.
Working
Papers (highlights)
“How to Use Recognition Rewards to Improve the Quality of Bureaucrats? Experimental Evidence from a Public Teacher Training Programme in Pakistan". Under Review
“Rules versus Discretion: Experimental Evidence on Incentives for Public Extension Staff" (with Garance Genicot and Ghazala Mansuri) (new version coming soon)
"Systems Approaches to Public Service Delivery: Methods and Frameworks (with Martin Williams). Accepted at the Journal of Public Policy.