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Community contribution requirements are a ubiquitous but un-
derstudied feature of projects to provide local public goods in de-
veloping countries. A randomized experiment in rural Bangladesh
shows that cash contribution requirements strongly reduce take-up
and impact of safe drinking water infrastructure projects, compared
to a contribution waiver. Labour contribution requirements do not,
despite having similar value when priced at the market wage, be-
cause most households value their time below the market wage and
because labour contributions appear less costly to coordinate. Nei-
ther contribution requirement increases cost-effectiveness once we
account for coordination and monitoring costs, undermining a cen-
tral rationale for their imposition.
