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Benefits and drawbacks of per diems: Do allowances distort good governance in the health sector?

Per diems, or daily allowances, are an important mechanism for reimbursing work‑related expenses, encouraging participation in professional development activities, and motivating under‑paid employees. Yet, sometimes employees may abuse per diem policies by falsifying travel reports or inflating workshop budgets for private gain. In addition, the possibility of earning per diem can have a distorting impact on programme design, management decisions, and how employees spend their time. Drawing on a focus group and interviews with experienced development professionals, this U4 Brief explores the benefits and drawbacks of per diems, especially their potential negative impact on development goals.

Also available in French
1 January 2009
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Benefits and drawbacks of per diems: Do allowances distort good governance in the health sector?

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(2009) Benefits and drawbacks of per diems: Do allowances distort good governance in the health sector?. Bergen: U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute (U4 Brief null)

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All views in this text are the author(s)’, and may differ from the U4 partner agencies’ policies.

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

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