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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.

Consumer information to reduce counterfeit agricultural goods in Kenya

Eric Hsu
Anne Wacera Wambugu
In Kenya, researchers assessed the impact of training farmers to verify seed quality on their seed purchasing decisions and productivity, and the responses of seed markets to these changes. Trained farmers became better able to detect seed quality, more selective about where they bought seeds, and...

Giving effective information to fight COVID-19

Sergio Bautista
Martin Lajous
Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of public health messages on hand washing and compliance with government mandated guidelines in Mexico.

Providing Job Search Information to Improve Job Seekers' Employment and Earnings in Germany

Steffen Altmann
Florian Zimmermann
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing recently unemployed individuals informational brochures about job search strategies that motivated an active search on their labor market outcomes. Providing informational brochures improved the employment and earnings of...

Subsidized Land Titles, Social Institutions, and Land Formalization in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In Kananga, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a subsidized land titling program on both starting and completing land registration, as well as on citizens’ participation in social institutions. Being offered a land titling subsidy...

The Impact of Loans on the Survival and Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Colombia

In Colombia, researchers are evaluating the economic impact of providing stimulus loans to SMEs, distributed via the government’s COVID-19 relief program (“Unidos por Colombia”), on SME survival, profits, and employment.

Estimating the Human Costs of Debtor Prisons

In Egypt, a sizable portion of the prison population is incarcerated solely for failing to repay private debts, highlighting serious concerns about the social, economic, and legal consequences of debtor imprisonment. Researchers are conducting two randomized evaluations, the first tests the impact...

The Impact of Secondary School Exam Preparatory Courses on Student Education and Labor in Tanzania Among Out-of-School Youth

James Ward Khakshi
Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of offering stipends for exit exam preparatory courses on students’ exam completion and subsequent education, labor market, and marital outcomes.

Combating Corruption in Community Development in Indonesia

J-PAL affiliate Benjamin Olken (MIT) devised a method to measure corruption and used it to evaluate alternative strategies to reduce corruption on Indonesian roadbuilding projects. The evaluation tested two types of strategies: encouraging community participation and increasing the probability of...