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Do Better-Performing Nongovernmental Organizations Report More Accurately? Evidence from Financial Accounts in Uganda

Burger, Ronelle; Dang, Canh Thien; Owens, Trudy

Authors

Ronelle Burger

Canh Thien Dang



Abstract

We use Benford’s Law to investigate inaccurate financial reports of a representative sample of Ugandan nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). We find that 25% of the sample provided information that did not conform to the Benford distribution, suggesting potential misreporting. NGOs with better ratings from their beneficiaries are more likely to submit credible information. This contradicts the belief that upward accountability demands crowd out serving the client community. The decision to withhold requested information is unrelated to the decision to report inaccurately, with the latter attributed to limited capacity and skills. Policies should provide larger roles for beneficiary-based assessments and increased support for bookkeeping activities.

Citation

Burger, R., Dang, C. T., & Owens, T. (2021). Do Better-Performing Nongovernmental Organizations Report More Accurately? Evidence from Financial Accounts in Uganda. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 69(2), 789-828. https://doi.org/10.1086/703099

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 15, 2019
Online Publication Date Nov 10, 2020
Publication Date Jan 1, 2021
Deposit Date Mar 8, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 8, 2019
Journal Economic Development and Cultural Change
Print ISSN 0013-0079
Electronic ISSN 1539-2988
Publisher University of Chicago Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 69
Issue 2
Pages 789-828
DOI https://doi.org/10.1086/703099
Keywords Economics and Econometrics; Development
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1620840
Publisher URL https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/703099?journalCode=edcc

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