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Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, and read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters. For media inquiries, please email us.

Property Tax Experiment in Punjab, Pakistan: Testing the Role of Wages, Incentives and Audit on Tax Inspectors' Behavior

Researchers conducted a two-year randomized evaluation of incentive schemes for tax officials in Punjab, Pakistan that found performance pay significantly increased tax revenues without harming taxpayer satisfaction.

Increasing Mobile Banking Use Among Rural Populations in Ghana

Researchers assessed the impact of financial incentives and peer endorsement on mobile banking adoption and formal savings in Ghana. While financial incentives boosted adoption by 50 percent, peer endorsement was twice as effective, leading to sustained mobile banking use and a 30 percent increase...

Household Risk Strategies and Conditional Cash Transfers in Nicaragua

Patrick Premand
Renos Vakis
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the effect of a basic CCT program, as well as two complementary interventions, on households’ vulnerability to irregular weather patterns. Providing households with vocational training or capital grants to generate non-agricultural income helps...

The Effect of Information and Subsidies on Chlorine Usage in Zambia

Emir Kamenica
Informational campaigns and price subsidies are common ways to increase the use of health products in developing countries, but little is known about the effect of combining these tools. In Zambia, researchers investigated whether households’ demand for chlorine at varying subsidy levels was...

Building Preschools to Improve Child Development and Mothers' Agency in Morocco

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to measure a major preschool construction program underway in Morocco.

Improving Labor Market Opportunities to Increase Women's Employment and Education in India

Researchers provided three years of recruiting services to help young women in randomly selected rural Indian villages get jobs in the business process outsourcing industry. Women who had access to these recruiting services were significantly more likely to be employed outside the home at the end of...

Do Online Advertisements Increase Name Recognition or Favorability of Political Candidates in the United States?

David E. Broockman
In order to assess the effects of online advertising, researchers evaluated the impact of a high volume of Facebook advertising on name recognition and favorability of political candidates. E xposure to Facebook ads did not increase recognition of a candidate’s name or increase positive assessments...