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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.

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...

Subsidized Housing to Change the Economic Outcomes and Social Integration of Syrian Refugees in Jordan

Samuel Leone
Emma Smith
Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation of a subsidized housing assistance program for refugees in Jordan to assess its impact on their economic outcomes, psychological well-being, long-term migration decisions, and social integration into their host community.

Improving Labor Courts through Competition in Mexico

Researchers are partnering with the Mexico City Labor Court to evaluate whether rotating court notifiers across areas and casefiles can reduce incidences of bribery, increase the notification rates, and improve the functioning of labor courts.

Testing Legislator Responsiveness to Citizens and Firms in the Vietnamese National Assembly

Responsive governments have the ability to make laws and decisions that reflect their constituents’ preferences. However, legislators may lack necessary information about constituents’ opinions and may therefore be unable to meet their demands. Researchers measured whether providing targeted...

Impact of Recruiting Services on Firms' Job Postings and Hiring in France

Yann Algan
Dylan Glover
Researchers in France studied whether government-provided recruiting services would impact firms’ job postings and hiring by lowering recruiting costs. The recruiting services decreased firms’ hiring costs and increased firms’ job postings and hiring, including much sought-after permanent-contract...

De-biasing Over-Optimism about Covid-19 Risks to Limit Vulnerable Individuals' Risky Behavior in India

Researchers are evaluating the impact of providing different types of information about the health risks of Covid-19 on individuals’ risky behavior among diabetic and hypertensive individuals in Tamil Nadu, India, with special attention to de-biasing over-optimism about personal health risk.

The Medium-Term Educational Effects of Short-Term Literacy Tutoring in Chile

Verónica Cabezas
Jose Ignacio Cuesta
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to gauge whether a short-term reading tutoring program could improve a range of student educational outcomes in the short- and medium-term (up to eight years after the program). They found that the program increased language test scores in the short term...

Advertising Higher Earnings during Recruitment Processes for Community Service Providers in Uganda

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of expected earnings on candidates’ perception of a community health worker position in Uganda, and on the resulting size and composition of the applicant pool. Fewer socially motivated participants applied when advertised wages were...