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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 Wages on Labor Supply in Rural Malawi

Researchers partnered with a local organization in Malawi to randomly vary the wages offered in a rural cash-for-work program, and evaluate the impact of wages on participants’ willingness to work. They found that nearly three-quarters of participants were willing to perform agricultural work even...

The Impact of Peer Messaging to Combat the Spread of Covid-19 in Zambia

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Zambia to test the impact of a peer-based information campaign, consisting of SMS messages and small cash incentives, on people’s adherence to Covid-19 health protocols. Participants forwarded public health SMSs when they were encouraged to do so, yet...

Incentivizing Savings through Default Deposits and SMS Reminders

Claudia Martinez
Esteban Puentes
Researchers are evaluating the impact of default deposits, SMS reminders to save, and short financial training for bank clients in low-income urban areas in Chile on saving and spending decisions.

Dairy Market Responses to Saving Constraints in Kenya

In partnership with a local dairy cooperative, researchers utilized a combination of evaluations and surveys to measure dairy farmers’ responses to various price and timing incentives. They found that farmers willingly declined daily payments at higher milk prices in favor of monthly payments at...

The Impact of Poverty Reduction on Child Health, Nutrition, and Sleep in the United States

Nathan Fox
Sarah Halpern-Meekin
Emma Hart
Alicia Kunin-Batson
Katherine Magnuson
Kimberly Noble
Jessica Sperber
Hiro Yoshikawa
To understand the causal impact of poverty reduction on children’s health, nutrition, sleep, and healthcare utilization, among other outcomes, researchers randomly assigned new mothers to receive an unconditional cash transfer of $333 (high-cash group) or $20 per month (low-cash group) in the Baby’s...