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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.

Reducing Farmers' Risk through Flood-Tolerant Rice in India

Researchers partnered with CGIAR’s International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to evaluate the impact of a flood-resistant rice variety on fertilizer use and crop yield in India. During floods, the flood tolerant seeds had a clear advantage over the traditional seeds. In non-flooded areas, there...

Disseminating Flood Warnings to Increase Disaster Preparedness in India

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing flood early warnings to rural households through smartphone alerts and community volunteers on their flood preparedness and responsiveness, as well as post-flood health and economic outcomes.

Competitive School Grants to Improve Student Learning in Senegal

Oswald Koussihouede
Nathalie Lahire
Corina Mommaerts
Researchers partnered with the Senegalese government to evaluate the impact of a decentralized school grants program on student learning. The program improved test scores overall and for girls in younger grades. The impact was stronger in schools that invested more in human resource training rather...

Climate Action Outreach by Democrats in an Online Network in the USA

Lucy Page
Hannah Ruebeck
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to study if Democratic climate advocates recruit others for climate advocacy and whether they reach out across party lines to increase bi-partisan support. While Democrats were motivated to mobilize others to email Congress on climate action, they were...

Providing Information and Application Assistance to Improve Social Pension Enrollment in India

Sarika Gupta
The researcher evaluated the impact of providing eligible women with program information and various levels of application assistance for the Delhi Widow Pension Scheme on program knowledge, application completion, and enrollment. Offering more involved application assistance increased average...

The Impact of Outreach and Assistance from Navigators on Medicaid Renewals in the United States

Allison Espeseth
Researchers assessed the impact of outreach on Medicaid retention; outreach messages provided a reminder to renew as well as information about how to obtain free one-on-one assistance with renewal processes from health insurance navigators. Outreach using pre-recorded calls prevented denials due to...

The Impact of Informational Mailings on SNAP Enrollment in the United States

Researchers studied the impact of providing outreach and assistance to households that are likely eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, on enrollment in the program.