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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.

Messaging Strategies to Promote Safe Water and Hygiene in Bangladesh

Kaniz Jannat
David Levine
Thomas Polley
Leanne Unicomb
Researchers tested whether sharing messages that appealed to negative emotions, like shame or disgust, increased households’ hand washing behavior and willingness to pay for water chlorination in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Negative messaging had no impact on chlorination levels or willingness to pay, but...

Training and Access to Capital for High-Potential Entrepreneurs to Foster Economic Growth in Colombia

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are thought to be important drivers of growth in developing economies, but entrepreneurs in these countries face many barriers, including poor access to training, finance, and business networks. In Colombia, Fundación Bavaria’s “Destapa Futuro” (Open the Future)...

Video-Mediated Agricultural Extension to Increase Technology Adoption Among Farmers in Ethiopia

Gashaw Abate
Simrin Makhija
David J. Spielman
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a video-mediated extension approach on the uptake of technologies recommended by the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture. The video-mediated instruction increased uptake through improved access to extension and farmer knowledge but...

Information Disclosure, Cognitive Biases, and Payday Borrowing in the United States

Adair Morse
Researchers provided payday borrowers in the United States information about the true costs of payday loans in order to find out whether they would respond by changing their demand for the product. Better informed individuals reduced their demand significantly, suggesting that getting consumers to...

Providing Credit Information to Borrowers to Improve Repayment in Guatemala

Researchers ran a large randomized credit information training program that described the existence and workings of the bureau to the clients of this lender. The results indicate that the credit bureau generated large efficiency gains for the lender, and that these gains were augmented when...

The Impact of Role Models and Technical Assistance on Microfirms in Chile

In partnership with Simón de Cirene, a Chilean non-profit organization, researchers evaluated the impact of providing role models and personalized assistance through various delivery methods on the business outcomes of micro-entrepreneurs. One year after the program ended, household income increased...

The Effectiveness of Encouraging Voter Participation by Inducing Feelings of Pride or Shame

Christopher Larimer
Researchers evaluated whether disclosure of past voting participation had a stronger impact on turnout when it reminded voters of instances in which they previously voted or of instances in which they failed to vote. The results suggest that mailings disclosing past voting behavior had strong...