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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.

The Impact of Exposing Corrupt Politicians through Government Audits in Brazil

Billions of dollars in government funds go missing each year due to corruption, but there is limited consensus on how best to tackle this global challenge. Researchers leveraged data from Brazil’s long-standing anticorruption program, which holds public lotteries to randomly select municipalities...

Generating Social Connections for Better Business Practices Among Firms in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia to measure whether generating social connections between manufacturing firm managers could lead to the diffusion and adoption of best business practices. These social interactions led to the spread of best practices...

Targeting Labor Market Programs to Jobseekers Who Need Them Most in Switzerland

Stefanie Behncke
Michael Lechner
In many countries, there has recently been an increased interest in targeting labor market programs to unemployed persons who would benefit the most from them. Researchers evaluated the impact of providing a statistical targeting system to case workers in government employment agencies on their...

Virtual and Face-to-Face Peer Interactions to Improve the Quality of Business Proposals among Entrepreneurs in 49 Countries across Africa

Cristiana Benedetti-Fasil
Charles Brummitt
Tommaso Fornaciari
Dirk Hovy
Paolo Pin
Gaia Rubera
Fernando Vega-Redondo
Researchers compared the effects of face-to-face and virtual peer interaction on the submission and quality of business proposals by individuals from 49 African countries enrolled in an online entrepreneurship course. They found that face-to-face networks and the virtual interaction of groups of...

Disseminating Flood Warnings to Increase Disaster Preparedness in India

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing flood early warnings to rural households through smartphone alerts and community volunteers on their flood preparedness and responsiveness, as well as post-flood health and economic outcomes.

Climate Action Outreach by Democrats in an Online Network in the USA

Lucy Page
Hannah Ruebeck
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to study if Democratic climate advocates recruit others for climate advocacy and whether they reach out across party lines to increase bi-partisan support. While Democrats were motivated to mobilize others to email Congress on climate action, they were...

The Impact of Outreach and Assistance from Navigators on Medicaid Renewals in the United States

Allison Espeseth
Researchers assessed the impact of outreach on Medicaid retention; outreach messages provided a reminder to renew as well as information about how to obtain free one-on-one assistance with renewal processes from health insurance navigators. Outreach using pre-recorded calls prevented denials due to...