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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 Financial Incentives on School Participation in Mexico

In Mexico, researchers evaluated the impact of PROGRESA, a national CCT program, on both school enrollment and child wages.

Weekday vs. Weekend Text-Based Parenting Support in the United States

Hans Fricke
David Song
Ben York
In Texas, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of text message-based parenting support delivered at different times of the week on young children’s literacy and numeracy development. They found that text messages delivered on weekends were best for supporting children...

Economic Returns to Street Paving in Mexico

Climent Quintana-Domeque
Many urban areas in developing countries lack basic services such as piped water, electricity, sewage lines, and paved roads. Researchers analyzed the effect of paving streets in residential areas in Mexico on the living standards of adjacent households. Street paving increased property values...

Laser-Branding Technologies to Increase the Quality of Watermelons in Chinese Markets

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of different types of labels to signal product quality on sellers’ ability to develop a reputation for consistently selling high-quality watermelons in China. The more expensive laser-cut label influenced sellers to provide higher...

The Impact of Extending Childcare on Female Labor in Chile

Claudia Martinez
In Chile, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the effect of providing free after-school care on women’s labor market outcomes. The program increased women’s labor force participation and employment, and increased the use of daycare for young children who were ineligible for the...

Increasing the Demand for Workers with a Criminal Record in the United States

Workers with criminal records face substantially lower chances of securing employment compared to similar workers without such records. Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of different approaches, including wage subsidies, crime and safety insurance, past performance reviews, criminal record...

Personality Traits and Responses to Persuasive Appeals among Voters in the United States

David Doherty
Conor M. Dowling
Gregory A. Huber
Costas Panagopoulos
Researchers used two randomized evaluations, an online survey and a field experiment, to test how personality traits affect responses to persuasive appeals to vote. They found that individuals with high levels of openness were most responsive to a range of appeals.