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News, ideas, and analysis from J-PAL staff and affiliated professors. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive monthly email updates.

A woman sits with two children on either side of her.

Improving mental health in low- and middle-income settings: Key findings from rigorous research

Mental health conditions are prevalent worldwide, especially among people living in poverty. In 2017, an estimated 10.7 percent of the global population had at least one mental health disorder. Meanwhile, access to services remains low even for those who seek care. Evidence on how to close this...
Photo of meeting with people facing projection of agenda

At Yale, scholars and policymakers unite to improve state Medicaid program

By
  • Mike Cummings
On a recent morning, administrators of Connecticut’s Medicaid program visited Yale’s Tobin Center for Economic Policy for a brainstorming session. The meeting marked the beginning of a unique partnership between the State of Connecticut, the Tobin Center, and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action...
Person opening opening mail with letter containing text "Health Insurance Marketplace: You're almost done at Healthcare.gov..."

Overcoming administrative burdens: Strategies to increase access to health insurance in the United States

A new J-PAL policy insight highlights evidence from randomized evaluations on the impact of informational “nudges”—strategies designed to inform individuals about various aspects of health insurance and influence behavior without changing legal or economic systems—on health insurance take-up. In...
Mass Covid-19 vaccination center in Indonesia

Strengthening Covid-19 immunization demand: Lessons from existing evidence

J-PAL's Health sector co-chairs and staff discuss lessons from evidence for strengthening Covid-19 immunization demand.
Two envelopes; one with the Minnesota Management and Budget Logo and text "400 Centennial Office Building 658 Cedar Street Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155." The other with the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Logo and text "Prescription Monit 2828 University Av Minneapolis, MN 5 http://pmp.pharm Supporting Patien. Dr. Prescriber PMP Letter 111 Main St Anvtown. MN 55555"

Building research partnerships to address the opioid crisis in Minnesota, part two

By
Mireille Jacobson (University of Southern California), Weston Merrick (Minnesota Management and Budget or MMB), and Adam Sacarny (Columbia University) sit down with J-PAL staff to discuss the results of their randomized evaluation assessing how various letters affected physicians’ use of Minnesota’s...
Speakers sit on a stage

India’s nutrition landscape and the path forward

By
Over the last few years, India has made sizable investments in improving child nutrition through government programs like the Poshan Abhiyaan, the Government of India’s flagship scheme to tackle malnutrition in children, and the ongoing work of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), the...
A child plays in a yard in Botswana

A state-of-the-art, cheap, scalable method to measure child and adult (multilingual) speech in early childhood interventions

By
  • Alessandra Cassar
  • Diana Contreras Suárez
  • Alejandrina Cristia
  • Pauline Grosjean
  • Sarah Walker
We describe a state-of-the-art, cheap, easily scalable method, relying on inexpensive hardware together with open-source technology to measure speech. We describe how the hardware is better suited than alternatives to field settings and large-scale interventions, and how the software is more precise...
A roadside billboard that reads "stay home, limit travel, save lives"

Encouraging adherence to preventive health guidelines during a pandemic: Lessons from rigorous Covid-19 evidence

This note provides an overview of the evidence from randomized evaluations that has come out during the Covid-19 pandemic thus far to combat these barriers. These general lessons on increasing uptake of healthy behaviors and improving the delivery of health products and services may be of value in...