Policymaking, Trust, and the Demand for Public Services: Evidence from a Mass Sterilization Campaign

Gianmarco León-Ciliotta (), Dijana Zejcirovic and Fernando Fernandez

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2025, vol. 17, issue 1, 181-215

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 and 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.

JEL-codes: I12 I18 I38 J13 J16 J18 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Working Paper: Policy-Making, Trust and the Demand for Public Services: Evidence from a Mass Sterilization Campaign (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:17:y:2025:i:1:p:181-215

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DOI: 10.1257/pol.20230155

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