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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.

Expanding Educational Opportunities through a Public-Private Partnership in Pakistan

David Blakeslee
Matthew Hoover
Dhushyanth Raju
Stephen Ryan
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of publicly-funded private primary schools on student enrollment in rural Pakistan. The private school program significantly increased school enrollment, but did not reduce gender disparities among students.

The Impact of a One-off Transfer of Assets and Skills on the Occupational Choices of Low-income Women in Bangladesh

Researchers partnered with BRAC to evaluate their multi-faceted livelihood program known as the Graduation Approach, which aims to encourage occupational change among women living in extreme poverty. The Graduation Approach enabled these women to shift away from seasonal casual wage labor and into...

Enabling Young Readers: A Primary School Reading Program in the Philippines

Todd Kumler
Researchers evaluated a 31-day read-a-thon where students were encouraged to read as many books as possible through daily reading activities in school, such as storytelling sessions, reading games, and posters that display each class’s progress. Overall, the results suggest that encouraging an...

Military Conscription and Crime in Argentina

Researchers evaluated the effect of Argentina’s lottery-based conscription on draftees’ criminal activity. They found that conscription increased crime rates among draft-eligible Argentinians, especially those serving longer or during times of war.

Gender Violence and School Achievement in Mozambique

Sofia Amaral
Aixa Garcia-Ramos
Sarita Ore-Quispe
In Mozambique, researchers are evaluating the GBV and schooling impacts of implementing a GBV curriculum targeted at students.

Evaluating Village Savings and Loans Associations in Malawi

Beniamino Savonitto
Bram Thuysbaert
In Malawi, researchers are evaluating the effect of membership in a Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) on an individual’s financial and social well-being.

The Impact of Providing Land Tax Subsidies, Local Monitoring, and Minikits on Irrigation Use in Rwanda

Maria Jones
Florence Kondylis
John Loeser
Building off of previous quasi-experimental research, researchers conducted three randomized evaluations to test the impact of providing farmers with land tax subsidies, different ways of monitoring water access and the canal’s operations and maintenance, or farming minikits on farmers' use of...

Leveraging Social Networks for Job Referrals in India

Many firms rely on social networks to find potential employees, and to find out more information about them. In Kolkata, India, researchers tested whether using social networks for recruitment was an effective strategy for finding highly qualified candidates in a laboratory setting. They found that...