Impact of Financial Incentives and the Role of Information and Communication in Last-Mile Delivery of Textbooks in Zambia

This study investigates the impact of financial incentives and role of information and communication in textbook availability (especially those in local languages) in Zambia. It uses the difference-in-difference estimation method to identify the causal links among the factors. The data used for the study were collected in 2017 and 2019 for baseline and end-line information. The study shows that providing financial incentives to schools increases the likelihood of a school receiving textbooks by 0.126. This improvement is mainly driven by raising the likelihood of a school collecting the books from zone-center schools and District Education Board Secretaries offices, by 0.356 and 0.158, respectively. Providing financial incentives to District Education Board Secretaries does not have any impact on the likelihood of a school receiving textbooks. This is partly because the current textbook delivery practice in districts and communities relies heavily on the action of schools and less on District Education Board Secretaries. Thus, providing incentives directly to schools seems to intensify the current last-mile textbook distribution practice and has better results. In addition, providing information to schools on the availability of textbooks at District Education Board Secretaries offices improves the outcomes significantly with minimum cost.