News

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...

Researchers in Bangladesh conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of integrating light-touch ECD support into an existing national child health program on early childhood development outcomes. Children who received the ECD support showed improvements in cognitive, language, and physical...

Researchers are partnering with a leading mobile network operator to investigate how the internet affects financial and economic outcomes, particularly for women.

In Kenya, researchers partnered with a telecom operator to evaluate the impact of a commitment savings account, called the “High Hopes” Lock-Savings Account, on account usage, savings and loans, and school enrollment. The study found that many parents used the accounts–usage rates increased by about...

Researchers are conducting an evaluation of the Government of Kenya’s G-United youth volunteer program to test the effect of randomly placing students in locations they prefer on the retention of volunteers in the program, their job performance, and their employment outcomes after the program.

Many programs that aim to help people in poverty are tailored to specific households. But often, entire communities can be living in poverty. Researchers partnered with the NGO Raising the Village to conduct a randomized evaluation of a universal livelihoods program in Uganda that offered a bundle...

Researchers evaluated two approaches to improving the quality of Colombian preschools. Providing additional resources to preschools for materials and new staff did not benefit children’s development and, unintentionally, led teachers to reduce their involvement in classroom activities. However, the...

COVID-19 school closures have led to widespread student learning loss in the United States. Researchers are evaluating the impact of individualized, virtual summer instruction on redressing these losses. This project is ongoing. Results forthcoming.