The Arab Spring has increased the political power of Islamic parties. An oft-cited argument holds that the social welfare activities of Islamist organizations have boosted their popular appeal by creating grateful beneficiaries, fostering a perceived commitment to social justice, and burnishing their credentials as relatively uncorrupt and responsive to social needs (Alterman 2000; Bayat 2002; Denoeux 1993; Hamzeh 2001; Harik 1994; Ismail 2001; ?ni? 2006; Roy 1994; Walsh 2006). Yet little systematic scholarly research explores whether this reputation for “good governance” and effective public goods provision is deserved. As Islamic parties play a more active role in running their countries, a major policy question is: will Islamic parties perform better than their predecessors in the delivery of educational and health services and by improving conditions for the poor and the excluded in the labor market? If so, under what conditions do they provide social goods more effectively? This paper examines this question in Turkey. We examine the provision of education and health outputs and their effects on education and health outcomes on subnational units in Turkey since 1990. Econometric results combined with illustrative case studies at the provincial level enable us to assess variation in development outcomes at the subnational level.