On July 18th and 19th, J-PAL hosted the first regional matchmaking conference for its Urban Services Initiative (USI) at Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Colombo conference brought together researchers and practitioners active in urban service delivery (particularly water, sanitation, and hygiene) throughout South Asia. The aim of the conference was to stimulate discussion on innovative micro-solutions to the need for better urban public services, and what collaboration opportunities might exist between the researchers and practitioners.

In this first video, Anjali Bhardwaj (Founder, Satark Nagrik Sangathan) and Rohini Pande (Mohammed Kamal Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School) discuss public goods, location choice and the voting decisions of the urban poor.