Paying for performance in China's battle against anaemia

This study by Linxiu Zhang, Scott Rozelle and Yaojing Shi uses a cluster randomised control trial to examine how misaligned supply-side incentives impede health programmes in developing countries. It looks at the Pay for Performance incentive for reducing anaemia among students in rural China. The study examines the impact of information, subsidies and financial incentives on schools in improving the health of their students. The findings show the effectiveness of rewarding providers for better health outcomes. It underlines the importance of incentives to promote a broad range of underused supply-side health technologies more effectively. It also emphasises the need for harmonising new and existing incentives.