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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 Secondary Education on Economic Decision-Making in Malawi

Researchers evaluated whether randomly providing financial support for secondary education could improve economic decision-making in addition to educational outcomes for secondary school students in Malawi. Results show that the intervention improved educational outcomes and economic decision-making...

Forgive and Forget: The Impact of Medical Debt Forgiveness on Financial Outcomes in the United States

In this randomized evaluation, researchers evaluated the impact of a medical debt relief program (that buys and relieves a portion of individuals’ medical debt) on measures of mental and physical health, health care utilization, and financial well-being—including financial distress, credit score...

The Impact of Offering Pay-as-you-go Car Insurance on Covering Drivers in California

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of introducing a pay-as-you-go car insurance contract, which reduces minimum purchase requirements, to uninsured drivers in California. Applicants who were offered this type of insurance were nearly twice as likely to purchase car...

Job Fairs for Employment Matching in Ethiopia

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of job fairs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to test the effect of face-to-face interactions between formal firms and job seekers on workers’ chances of getting a job.

Pay for Perfomance Incentives for Heathcare Workers and Their Supervisors in Sierra Leone

Working with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone, researchers evaluated the impact of incentivizing community health workers (CHWs), their supervisors, or both on health care provision. Sharing the incentive between CHWs and their supervisors resulted in more health care visits...

Afghanistan Targeting the Ultra-Poor Impact Evaluation

Guadalupe Bedoya
Aidan Coville
Mohammad Isaqzadeh
Jeremy Shapiro
In Afghanistan, researchers evaluated the impact of a Targeting the Ultra Poor program on poverty reduction. The cost-effective program generated large positive impacts for women participants across key outcomes: consumption, assets, psychological well-being, total time spent working, financial...

Encouraging Behavioral Change to Improve Road Safety in Kenya

In Kenya, researchers introduced a messaging campaign on matatus (local buses) to encourage individuals to speak up against reckless driving and reduce road accidents rates. Placing these stickers in the passenger area of matatus decreased insurance claims rates, average speed, and number of road...

Supplementing Savings Groups with External Funds to Expand Access to Lending in Uganda

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test whether supplementing SGs with additional funds impacts SG members' financial access and behavior. Capital infusions to Sgs increased members' access to loans and members received more money at the end of year payout, without increasing defaults...