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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.

Text Messages as Reminders for Antiretroviral Medication Adherence in Kenya

Researchers introduced text message reminders to evaluate their effect on Kenyan patients taking their antiretrovirals consistently and not skipping doses. Patients who received weekly text messages were more likely to take their medicine 90 percent of the time and were less likely to skip doses for...

Distributing Pollution Rights in Cap-and-Trade Programs in the United States

Jeffrey Perloff
Researchers evaluated a cap-and-trade program in the United States to determine if the initial allocation of permits among firms affected how much firms decided to pollute. Evidence was consistent with, but not proof of, the economic theory that firms make decisions to reduce emissions based on...

Student Incentive Structures in Malawi

Hyuncheol Kim
Hyuk Harry Son
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of two different performance-based incentives on students’ test scores, motivation, and behavior in Malawi. They find that tournament-style incentives that rewarded the top performers among a large group lowered test scores and student...

Investigating Rural Labor Markets Among the Ultra-Poor in Northern Ghana

Researchers designed an employment program in northern Ghana and evaluated participants’ willingness to engage in paid labor and carry out complex tasks on the job.

Nudging Good Politicians in the Philippines

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of an all-expense-paid three-day leadership training workshop on incentivizing honest and competent youth to run for a village youth council.

Understanding the Preferences and Productivity of Workers in the United States

Understanding workplace incentives and the motivations of workers is important for increasing workplace productivity and organizational efficiency. Many have suggested that employees are altruistic, willing to work harder when they believe that the amount of effort they exert in their job directly...