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Training teachers to improve teacher quality and student learning is a common strategy taken by policymakers. In Nepal, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of a government teacher training program for math and science teachers to evaluate the impact on student learning in secondary schools...

Researchers tested the independent impact of two channels, social learning (when someone purchases an asset after a peer expresses a desire to purchase the same asset) and social utility (when someone feels he can gain more from an asset because his peer owns it), on financial decisions in Brazil...

Researchers conducted an evaluation to test the impact of offering a high-amenity diagnostic consultation for cataracts at different prices on uptake of an underutilized service—cataract surgery—in Mexico. Lower prices for the high-amenity consultation increased exposure to amenities, which...

In many countries around the world, there is growing concern that certain groups of people may face job market discrimination based on physical appearance. To test this theory, researchers randomly submitted resumes with photos of people with varying levels of attractiveness to measure the effect on...

Researchers studied the impact of physician training on the cost and quality of care in a large hospital that randomly allocated patients to teams of physicians from residency programs affiliated with one of two different medical schools. Costs for patients treated by physicians affiliated with the...

Businesses may be slow to adopt a new technology even when it offers clear benefits. Researchers introduced a new fabric cutting technology to a randomly selected group of soccer ball manufacturers in Pakistan, but very few firms adopted it. They hypothesized that the most likely explanation for low...

Researchers evaluated how different ways of asking questions in surveys affect workers’ likelihood of reporting harassment at a firm in Bangladesh. A survey technique that gave people plausible deniability led to workers reporting more abuses, allowing the firm to access more accurate data on the...

Researchers studied the impact of private school vouchers on the altruism, or selfless concern for others, of children and their parents. Voucher recipients demonstrated more altruism towards charitable organizations, but not towards their peers.