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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.

Delivering Clean Water to Households in India

Fiona Burlig
Amir Jina
More than two billion people around the world lack access to clean drinking water, and current approaches to increasing access have fallen short. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of delivering clean water directly to households on the valuation of clean water, and...

The Impact of Commitment Contracts on Workplace Productivity in India

Self-control problems can lead people to fall short of their personal and professional goals, often resulting in lower than desired workplace productivity. Researchers, in partnership with an Indian data entry firm, conducted a randomized evaluation to test whether self-control problems existed in...

Providing Therapy and Cash Transfers to Improve Older Adult Mental Health in India

Researchers evaluated the impact of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and cash transfers on functional impairment (or difficulty performing daily tasks), depression, and food security among adults 55 and older living alone in Tamil Nadu, India. At a three-week follow-up, cash transfers improved...

Information to Increase Insurance Take-up and Reduce Market Risk in the United States

Richard Domurat
Isaac Menashe
Researchers studied the impact of reminder letters addressing possible barriers related to information and behavior on insurance take-up, as well as their impact on health insurance market risk. The reminder letters reducing informational and behavioral barriers to enrollment increased insurance...

Can mobile phones improve learning? Evidence from a field experiment in Niger

Researchers ran an evaluation in Niger to determine if training adults to use mobile phones could improve their learning outcomes when added to a standard adult education program. The mobile phone program increased student writing and math test scores relative to the standard curriculum.

Improving Health Provider Performance in Kenya

Poor infrastructure, limited access to medicine, poor service provision, and a lack of accountability often lead to poor health outcomes in many developing countries. Researchers conducted a lab-in-the-field randomized experiment to evaluate patients’ willingness to file complaints against service...

Vocational Training for Improved Employability and Job Expectations in the Dominican Republic

Researchers introduced a soft skills component into a vocational training program in the Dominican Republic to assess the interaction between job and soft skills training on labor market outcomes and expectations. Women experienced increased employment rates and wages in the short term, which...