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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.

Using GPS-enabled Cellphones to Monitor Agricultural Extension Agents in Paraguay

Researchers partnered with the Government of Paraguay to measure the impact of a new monitoring technology—GPS-enabled cell phones—on the job performance of agricultural extension agents (AEAs). Overall, cell phones improved AEAs’ performance by increasing the share of farmers visited, and...

The Effects of Youth Employment: Evidence from New York City Summer Youth Employment Program Lotteries

Alexander Gelber
Adam Isen
Numerous summer jobs programs in the United States seek to support the employment of young people facing barriers to employment and opportunity. Researchers studied the impact of the New York City Summer Youth Employment Program (which used a lottery to determine participation) on youth earnings...

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Health Outcomes in the United States

David E. Broockman
Patrick Krause
Elizabeth Rhodes
Researchers evaluated the impact of a US$1,000 monthly unconditional cash transfer to individuals with low incomes for three years on health outcomes including nutrition, sleep, health care access and use, and physical and mental health. Those who received the large cash transfer spent more on...

Impact of Financial Control on Women's Labor Supply and Gender Norms in India

Researchers worked with local banks and the state government of Madhya Pradesh to provide women with their own bank accounts, training on how to use them, and direct deposit of wages earned through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to measure the impact of...

Human-AI Cooperation to Improve Tutoring in the United States

Dora Demszky
Ana Ribeiro
Carly Robinson
Rose E. Wang
In collaboration with FEV Tutor, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to study whether Tutor CoPilot, an AI language model tool, could enhance tutoring quality and improve student learning outcomes in math. Researchers found that tutor access to Tutor CoPilot improved student learning...

Comparing Livelihood Approaches for the Ultra-Poor in Ghana

Nate Barker
Elizabeth Bradley
Angela Ofori-Atta
The Graduation Approach, a model for holistic livelihoods programs, has been proven to have lasting impacts on poor families’ income, assets, food security, and mental health, but these programs can be expensive to implement. In Ghana, researchers are evaluating the impact of different variations of...

Improving Security through Concentrated Policing in Bogotá, Colombia

Daniel Mejia
Daniel Ortega
In Bogotá, Colombia, researchers partnered with the city to measure the impact of either concentrated policing, increased municipal clean-ups, or both on crime reduction and displacement. The evaluation found that the two approaches reduced crime on targeted streets when implemented together, but...