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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.

How debit cards helped Indonesia’s poor get more food

Starting about five years ago in Indonesia, instead of rice bags, the poor were sent debit cards to buy the equivalent amount of food at local neighborhood shops. Suddenly millions of Indonesians in the program started receiving the total amount of food intended for them 81 percent of the time...

New research finds ‘formality effect’ in local government letters

As part of Bloomberg Philanthropies' support for the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, the renowned behavioral scientist Elizabeth Linos and The People Lab came to Harvard last year. Read about Linos' field-leading research and how it applies to the work of city leaders today.

After success in Surat, scheme to control air pollution to be implemented in Ahmedabad

Considering the encouraging results of a pilot project of Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) in Surat, the Gujarat government is going to replicate the same scheme in Ahmedabad in two-phases. It is being implemented in collaboration with researchers of Chicago University, Yale University and Abdul Latif...

J-PAL MENA Newsletter February 2023

J-PAL MENA's February newsletter features remarks from Executive Director, Alison Fahey, and updates on evidence-informed policy making and what staff have been working on.

Talking High-Dosage Tutoring: A Researcher and Schools Chief Share Strategies

Two champions of high-dosage tutoring—one a researcher and the other a superintendent — share their expertise and experience on high-dosage tutoring in a virtual forum.

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Research Shows Effects Of Admissions Lottery On Children

Attending preschool at age 4 makes children significantly more likely to go to college, according to an empirical study led by an MIT economist. The study examines children who attended public preschools in Boston from 1997 to 2003. It finds that among students of similar backgrounds, attendance at...

India must step up efforts to increase FLN skills among students

Nearly a decade of research by noted economist Karthik Muralidharan and action-oriented interventions by the NGO Pratham offers useful insights into solving the learning crisis through reforms in pedagogy and governance. For successful implementation of these reforms, multiple stakeholders...

February 2023 Newsletter

The February 2023 Newsletter features our 20th-anniversary edition of “Improving Lives Through Evidence," which showcases how our work has evolved over the years, the launch of the Learning for All Initiative (LAI), and an affiliate spotlight on Monica Martinez-Bravo.