Citizen feedback and delivery of urban services

Citizen feedback is considered an effective means for improving the performance of public utilities. But how well does such information reflect the actual quality of service delivery? We investigate this question using data for Bangalore, India. In our framework actual service levels as well as expectations about service performance influence household satisfaction. We find that satisfaction increases with improvements in own service status, but is also influenced by comparisons with service levels of neighbors or peers. This implies that satisfaction is at least in part determined by factors that are unrelated to actual service quality experienced by the household. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.