Blog

News

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.

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...

The Impact of Employment on High-Risk Men in Liberia

Jeannie Annan
In Liberia, researchers tested the effect of an intensive agricultural training program that also provided agricultural supplies and psychosocial counseling on employment activities, income, and socio-political integration. Fourteen months after the program, participants spent more time working in...

The Effect of Randomized School Admissions on Voter Participation in the United States

Understanding the factors that influence voting behavior is a central policy issue. Often voting outcomes directly determine funding of critical public goods such as public education.

The Degree of Ethnic Bias in Kenya

Lars Ivar Oppedal Berge
Simon Galle
Bertil Tungodden
Kelly Zhang
Researchers in Kenya conducted multiple lab studies at the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics to explore the degree of ethnic bias in the local population and assess how bias may affect participants’ behavior. Contrary to existing assumptions about ethnic preferences in Kenya, researchers found...

Pay for Perfomance Incentives for Heathcare Workers in Pakistan

James Andreoni
Karrar Jaffar
Charles Sprenger
Polio is endemic in Pakistan, and vaccination campaigns often suffer when government health workers hired to administer the vaccine underperform. Researchers introduced individualized bonus contracts to health workers to evaluate the impact of time preferences on vaccine delivery and quality of...

Charitable Giving by Corporations and Aristocrats in Germany

Researchers partnered with the Bavarian State Opera House to conduct a randomized evaluation to test the impact of different fundraising methods on the giving behavior of aristocrats and corporations. They found that aristocrats were more responsive than other donor types but corporations gave the...

Comparing Cash and Mobile Transfers in Niger

Rachid Boumnijel
Amanda McClelland
Niall Tierney
In partnership with Concern Worldwide, researchers examined the relative effectiveness of traditional versus mobile cash transfers in Niger. Households who received electronic transfers had more diverse diets than those who received traditional cash transfers, in part due to time savings and shifts...

The Impact of Information on Selective and Less-Selective Schools in Chile

Mattias Busso
Claudia Martinez
Dario Romero
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing information to students on enrollment at different quality schools. Students who were provided information applied to and enrolled in different types of schools. However, overall a greater number of students did not enroll...