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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.

School Electricity and Native Language Digital Media to Improve Student Learning in Tanzania

Making electricity and learning materials in students’ native language more widely available in schools may be beneficial to student learning, but existing evidence is sparse. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of school electrification, delivered alongside mixed...

Changing Financial Incentives for Medicare Providers to Encourage Home Dialysis in the United States

Liran Einav
Yunan Ji
Researchers analyzed the impact of a new reimbursement model to incentivize end-stage kidney disease providers and facilities to provide home dialysis on home dialysis rates. During the first year of the study, there was no statistically significant difference in home dialysis rates between hospital...

The Impact of Free Tuition Program Design on College Applications and Enrollment in the United States

Elizabeth Burland
Katherine Michelmore
Shwetha Raghuraman
Researchers investigated how two different free tuition programs for low-income students affected application and enrollment to the University of Michigan. An unconditional offer substantially increased application and enrollment while a conditional offer had a much smaller effect on applications...

Forgive and Forget: The Impact of Medical Debt Relief on Financial and Health Outcomes in the United States

In this randomized evaluation, researchers evaluated the impact of a medical debt relief program (that buys and relieves a portion of individuals’ medical debt) on measures of mental and physical health, health care utilization, and financial well-being—including financial distress, credit score...

Unconditional Cash Transfers and Civic Engagement in Kenya

Michael Walker
Citizen participation in local civic affairs and in decision-making processes around village resources can be a way to align policies with local preferences, hold politicians accountable, and improve public service delivery. In rural Western Kenya, researchers are partnering with GiveDirectly to...