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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.

Randomized Evaluation of the Nurse Family Partnership in South Carolina

Farah Allouch
Samuel Ayers
Alyna Chien
Rebecca A. Gourevitch
Michele R. Hacker
Michelle Woodford Martin
Nicolas Perreault
Slawa Rokicki
Chloe Zera
Annetta Zhou
Researchers are evaluating the impact of an intensive nurse home visiting program for low-income mothers on pregnancy and birth outcomes, child health and development, and future life-courses for the family. The program had no effect on adverse birth outcomes or prenatal outcomes such as health care...

The Impact of a Simple Savings Device on Meeting Planned and Unplanned Expenses in Niger

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a savings lockbox, or SMS reminders, on household saving, spending, and the ability to cope with negative shocks in rural Niger. Take-up and usage of the lockbox were high, and while the lockbox intervention did not affect overall...

Examining Employer Race-based Discrimination Before and After Ban the Box

Sonja Starr
To better understand the connection between BTB policies and racial discrimination in hiring, researchers tested the impact of applicant race and criminal history on hiring decisions both before and after BTB policies came into effect in New Jersey and New York City. The results confirmed that...

The Impact of Improved Communication on Cal-Grant Take-Up Rates in the United States

Researchers evaluated the impact of simplified award letters and different framing and messaging on students’ decision-making in their college selection process and uptake of financial aid. Researchers found that notification letters containing simplified and behaviorally informed language increased...

The Impact of Existing Account Usage on the Likelihood of Switching Accounts in Malawi

Xavier Giné
Researchers partnered with a local bank to learn how customers chose between two account types—an account that had been offered for many years, which carried high monthly fees but no individual transaction costs, or a new type of account that charged for each withdrawal but did not impose monthly...