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Policy-Making, Trust and the Demand for Public Services: Evidence from a Mass Sterilization Campaign
Policy-Making, Trust and the Demand for Public Services: Evidence from a Mass Sterilization Campaign
Gianmarco León-Ciliotta
Dijana Zejcirovic
Fernando Fernandez
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy (Forthcoming)
Abstract
We study a large-scale family planning intervention in which more than 260,000 Peruvian
women were sterilized. Many of these medical procedures are alleged to have been performed
without patient consent. The subsequent disclosure of alleged illegal sterilizations caused reductions
in the usage of contraceptive methods, prenatal and birth delivery services, and—more
generally—the demand for medical services in affected areas. As a result, child health worsened.
The results persist for at least 17 years after the information disclosure and are driven
by disappointed supporters of the implementing government. Learning about the government’s
malpractices undermined trust in institutions.
