Blog

News

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.

Leveraging Business Networks to Boost Women’s Entrepreneurship in Ghana

Researchers investigated the role of online networking groups (via WhatsApp) and free legal aid on improving business innovation, practices, sales, and profits among growth-oriented women-owned firms in Ghana. They found that online networking groups meaningfully encouraged business innovation...

Offering Cash and In-Kind Transfers to Grow and Sustain Microenterprises in Sri Lanka

Researchers provided small one-time grants to microenterprises in Sri Lanka to measure the impact of the additional capital on business profits two and five years later. They found that cash and in-kind grants increased business profits for male owners in the short and long term, but did not lead to...

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Health Outcomes in Chelsea, Massachusetts

Benjamin Le Cook
The City of Chelsea implemented a cash transfer program called Chelsea Eats, which provided eligible households with up to US$400 per month for nine months. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation on the impact of the unconditional cash transfer on health care utilization and a variety of...

Reducing Covid-19 Infections and Holiday Travel through Social Media Campaigns in the United States

By running a Facebook public health campaign, researchers found that social media messaging from doctors and nurses reduced holiday travel and subsequent Covid-19 infection rates. This suggests that social media campaigns may be an impactful and cost-effective way to slow the spread of Covid-19 and...

Providing Conditional Cash Transfers to Encourage Childhood Immunization in Pakistan

Sara Abdullah
Danya Arif
Subhash Chandir
Aamir Khan
In Pakistan, researchers conducted an evaluation to test the impact of different types of mobile conditional cash transfers (mCCTs) on childhood immunization coverage and timeliness. Overall, small mCCTs led to increases in rates of immunization coverage at a low administrative cost. Additionally...

Marketing Effects in a Consumer Credit Market in South Africa (Pricing the Effect of Psychological "Features")

Working closely with a highly profitable consumer lender in South Africa, researchers sought to determine the effects of advertising content, price, and offer deadlines on loan take up. They found the marketing had significant effects on loan take up, but not on loan amount or default rates. Clients...

Interest Rates, Loan Maturity and Demand for Microfinance Loans in South Africa

Researchers tested the assumption of price inelastic demand using a randomized evaluation in South Africa. The results suggest that the demand curves were downward sloping, and steeper for price increases relative to the lender’s standard rates. Researchers also found that loan size was far more...

Boosting Firms' Productivity in Mexico with Consulting Services

In Mexico, researchers are testing whether this lagging productivity could be due to lower managerial capacity. They found that providing subsidized managerial consulting to Mexican SMEs boosted their productivity and hiring.