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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.

The Impact of Meritocratic Promotions and Pay Progression on Health Care Workers' Productivity in Sierra Leone

Philipp Kastrau
Researchers tested the impact of a meritocratic promotion system and beliefs about pay progression on the productivity of Community Health Workers in Sierra Leone. A combination of meritocracy and the promise of a steep salary increase after promotion led workers to make more health care visits...

Improving Female Labor Force Participation through Flexible, Internet-mediated Gig Work in India

In India, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a flexible, digital gig work opportunities on women’s labor supply, take uptake of employment opportunities, implications for worker productivity, and women’s interest in future outside-the-home work opportunities. as well...

The Impact of Learning to Teach by Learning to Learn on Student Outcomes in Uganda

Researchers, in partnership with Kimanya Ngeyo Foundation for Science and Education in Uganda, evaluated the impact of a program that trained teachers to learn like scientists: posing questions, framing hypotheses, and using real-world experience wherever possible. Researchers found positive impacts...

Effects of Replicating Charter Schools in Boston, Massachusetts

Researchers studied a policy reform in Boston, Massachusetts, that allowed effective charter schools to replicate their school models at new locations. Results showed that charter schools reproduced their effectiveness at new campuses by following similar sets of standardized protocols...

The Impacts of Mental Health Treatment on Productivity in India

Researchers evaluated the impact of providing depression treatment and economic assistance on mental health and economic behavior in peri-urban communities near Bangalore, India. Treatment reduced depression severity, a benefit that persisted when paired with light-touch livelihoods assistance, but...

Finding Missing Markets: An Agricultural Brokerage Intervention in Kenya

Researchers evaluated whether a package of services, designed to help link smallholder farmers to commercial banks, retail farm suppliers, transportation services, and exporters, could help small farmers in Kenya adopt, finance, and market export crops, and thus make more income. One year after the...

Small Individual Loans and Mental Health in South Africa

This evaluation examined the direct impact of providing small consumer loans to marginally creditworthy individuals in South Africa on their credit access, investment, and well-being, as well as the profitability of these loans for lenders. Results found approving loans for marginally creditworthy...

Counseling the Unemployed in France (OPP/CVE)

An intensive counseling program for job seekers at risk of long-term unemployment in France helped them find work sooner than the standard low-intensity counseling program, and the counseling was more effective when provided by a public agency than by private contractors.