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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.

Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs on Voting in Honduras

In this randomized evaluation in Honduras, researchers assessed how the national Programa de Asignación Familiar (Family Allowance Program) CCT program, which provided a combination of transfers to households and transfers to support public goods, influenced voting in local and national elections...

The Timing and Effectiveness of Subsidies for Agricultural Technology Adoption in Zambia

Samuel Bell
Christopher Severen
Elizabeth Walker
Technology adoption often requires investments over time. As farmers realize new information about the costs and benefits of investments, they may abandon the newly adopted technology shortly after. Researchers partnered with the non-governmental organization Shared Value Africa and Dunavant Cotton...

Energy Conservation through Text Messages and Price Increases in Japan

Takanori Ida
Makoto Tanaka
Researchers introduced two programs during peak consumption hours—text messages encouraging energy conservation for the benefit of society, or price increases—to evaluate the impact of social motivation and dynamic pricing on energy conservation. Both programs led to reductions in electricity use...

Role of Information on the Returns of Post-Primary Education on School Dropout

Researchers and the Ministry of Education evalauted at scale two low-cost ways of providing relevant information to help students and their families make more informed decisions. Results suggest that the programs were effective at changing educational plans and lowering dropout rates, while...

The Effect of Mentoring on School Attendance and Academic Outcomes: A Randomized Evaluation of the Check & Connect Program

Sandra Christenson
Amy Claessens
Ashley Cureton
Mimi Engel
Ijun Lai
Mary Clair Turner
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of Check & Connect (C&C), a school-based mentoring program, to evaluate its impact on school attendance and academic outcomes. For students who began the program in grades 5-7, the program decreased student absences and caused participating students to...

Evaluating the Impact of Online Education in Russia

Igor Chirikov
René Kizilcec
Natalia Maloshonok
Tatiana Semenova
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact and cost-effectiveness of fully online and blended STEM classes in Russia on student test scores. Students in online and blended courses achieved similar scores to students in traditional in-person courses at a lower cost.

Promoting Intercaste Harmony Through Sports

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of cricket teams in rural India to identify whether team composition could improve intergroup harmony. Collaborative contact between cricket players of different castes reduced prejudice toward members of lower castes and increased cross-caste...