Policy Insights

What have we learned from randomized evaluations that policymakers, practitioners, and funders can use to improve social programs? J-PAL’s Policy Insights, organized by sector, highlight lessons emerging across multiple studies and the mechanisms that help explain the results.

J-PAL’s Sector Chairs and staff draw these insights from relevant randomized evaluations, updating and adding insights as the body of evidence grows. Each Policy Insight briefly summarizes their perspective on the evidence on a specific topic, with links to the original research and policy summaries. Read this blog post for more information about how we develop Policy Insights.

When combined with a detailed understanding of context and program implementation, we hope these insights can be practical inputs for policy and program design. For examples of how insights from randomized evaluations have informed policy, visit our Evidence to Policy page.

Facilitating savings among smallholder farmers to smooth or increase consumption

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Offering savings products to smallholder farmers did not transform agricultural investment or output in six studies in sub-Saharan Africa. In a few cases, savings products sometimes benefited farmers by providing a form of risk protection and by helping them smooth consumption over time.
Image: Elections in Nagpur, India

The risks and rewards of voter information campaigns in low- and middle-income countries

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Providing information on candidates’ qualifications, policy positions, and performance in office can affect voter turnout and who people vote for. In lower-income countries, this type of information has been most effective when it was widely disseminated from a credible source.
girl in school in India

Augmenter le taux de scolarisation et l’assiduité scolaire: impacts selon le genre

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Réduire le coût de la scolarité et mieux sensibiliser la population aux bienfaits de l’éducation permet d’augmenter la participation scolaire des garçons et des filles. Les programmes les plus efficaces ont tendance à bénéficier tout particulièrement au genre dont l’assiduité est initialement la...

Reducing costs to increase school participation

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Programs that reduce the costs of education increase student enrollment and attendance. However, there is considerable variation in the cost effectiveness of different programs.

Modifier les CV pour lutter contre la discrimination à l’embauche

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Des évaluations aléatoires ont mis en évidence le fait que les minorités et les groupes marginalisés étaient victimes de discrimination à l’embauche dans de nombreux pays, la plupart des résultats provenant jusqu’à présent de pays développés. Face à ce problème, des interventions consistant à...
Adolescent girls in India

Reducing adolescent pregnancy by increasing educational and economic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries

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Interventions that changed perceptions about girls’ abilities and opportunities or increased the educational and economic opportunities available to them encouraged girls and young women to delay pregnancy.
A Teaching at the Right Level reading activity in Zambia. Photo: Anton Scholtz | J-PAL

Tailoring instruction to students’ learning levels to increase learning

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In classrooms around the world, many students are not learning at grade level and struggle to catch up. Dedicating a portion of instruction time to tailoring instruction to the learning levels of students is one of the most effective and cost-effective ways of improving learning. Tailored...
Nurse talking to a patient

The impact of price on take-up and use of preventive health products

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Charging fees for many key preventive health products dramatically reduces take-up. Preventive health products distributed for free are generally put to good use.