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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.

Does Development Aid Undermine Political Accountability in Bangladesh?

In Tanore district of Bangladesh, researchers tested the impact of providing external subsidies for sanitation projects on the behavior of local leaders and, subsequently, on constituents’ perception of their performance. They found that while constituents credited leaders for the sanitation program...

Text Messages as Reminders for Antiretroviral Medication Adherence in Kenya

Researchers introduced text message reminders to evaluate their effect on Kenyan patients taking their antiretrovirals consistently and not skipping doses. Patients who received weekly text messages were more likely to take their medicine 90 percent of the time and were less likely to skip doses for...

Diminishing the Effectiveness of Vote-buying in India

To diminish the effect of bribes on voter behavior, researchers designed and evaluated a non-partisan anti-vote-buying radio campaign during the 2014 Indian general election. Researchers assessed whether voters in areas that were randomly assigned to receive the radio campaign became less likely to...

Student Incentive Structures in Malawi

Hyuncheol Kim
Hyuk Harry Son
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of two different performance-based incentives on students’ test scores, motivation, and behavior in Malawi. They find that tournament-style incentives that rewarded the top performers among a large group lowered test scores and student...

Reducing Bank Overdraft Usage through Price Discounts and SMS Reminders in Turkey

Researchers evaluated the impact of informational reminders and price discounts on bank clients’ overdraft usage in Turkey. While messages on the availability of overdraft protection services increased usage, messages promoting an overdraft discount actually reduced overdraft usage, potentially...