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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.

Small Individual Loans and Mental Health in South Africa

This evaluation examined the direct impact of providing small consumer loans to marginally creditworthy individuals in South Africa on their credit access, investment, and well-being, as well as the profitability of these loans for lenders. Results found approving loans for marginally creditworthy...

Counseling the Unemployed in France (OPP/CVE)

An intensive counseling program for job seekers at risk of long-term unemployment in France helped them find work sooner than the standard low-intensity counseling program, and the counseling was more effective when provided by a public agency than by private contractors.

Why Don't People Insure Late Life Consumption in the United States?

Jeffrey Brown
Jeffrey Kling
Marian Wrobel
Researchers evaluated the effect of the framing of potential investment options on people's investment in life annuities. They found that individuals were more likely to prefer an annuity when their options emphasized future consumption, rather than framing options in terms of investments. These...

The Role of Information and Preferences in School Choices in Romania

Robert Ainsworth
Rajeev Dehejia
In this randomized evaluation in Romania, researchers compared the roles of preferences and information in households’ decision-making, with regard to high school selection. Results suggest that households provided with information on school quality tend to choose schools that have a greater...