Cost-efficiency of rural sanitation promotion: activity-based costing and experimental evidence from Tanzania

Bertha Briceño and Claire Chase

Journal of Development Effectiveness, 2015, vol. 7, issue 4, 423-434

Abstract: This paper applies cost-efficiency analysis to an intervention that promotes behaviour change for rural sanitation in Tanzania. The campaign targets a number of potential beneficiaries, out of which some are effectively encouraged to adopt the new practices (beneficiaries). As a result, the cost-efficiency of the programme depends on the extent of take-up of improved sanitation by the target population, unknown in advance. To correctly account for the costs of households gaining access under this demand-driven approach, both costs (investments) and increased access to sanitation are considered outcomes and are estimated from samples of beneficiary and control populations, using a randomised-controlled trial design. Results show that sanitation promotion did not lead to higher investment relative to the control group and that the cost-per-person effectively gaining access to sanitation is substantially higher than the cost-per-person targeted or at-reach of the campaign. Using these estimates, the authors found that universal coverage can be obtained for the equivalent of 4 per cent of Tanzania’s national GDP (2013). They also used parameters estimated from the study to simulate cost-per-person of the programme when take-up increases (efficiency gains).

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1080/19439342.2015.1105848

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