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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.

Personality Traits and Responses to Persuasive Appeals among Voters in the United States

David Doherty
Conor M. Dowling
Gregory A. Huber
Costas Panagopoulos
Researchers used two randomized evaluations, an online survey and a field experiment, to test how personality traits affect responses to persuasive appeals to vote. They found that individuals with high levels of openness were most responsive to a range of appeals.

The Impact of a Formal Savings Intervention in Sri Lanka

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a deposit collection service on the amount of savings and the source of those savings. In a follow-up evaluation, researchers introduced design tweaks to test the impact of reducing collection costs on individuals’ savings behavior...

Handwashing and Behavior Change in Bangladesh

Dayea Oh
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of an edutainment intervention at schools and the provision of handwashing resources at home on handwashing at school and at home. These findings suggest that encouraging behavior change in one setting may crowd out like behavior in...

Leveraging Business Networks to Boost Women’s Entrepreneurship in Ghana

Researchers investigated the role of online networking groups (via WhatsApp) and free legal aid on improving business innovation, practices, sales, and profits among growth-oriented women-owned firms in Ghana. They found that online networking groups meaningfully encouraged business innovation...

The Lightbulb Paradox: Consumer Behavior and Public Policy in the U.S. Electricity Market

Energy-efficient technologies, such as compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), have the potential to save consumers money, but their adoption remains low. Researchers evaluated the impact of information and price on demand for CFLs in two contexts: an online survey platform and a typical retail...

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Health Outcomes in Chelsea, Massachusetts

Benjamin Le Cook
The City of Chelsea implemented a cash transfer program called Chelsea Eats, which provided eligible households with up to US$400 per month for nine months. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation on the impact of the unconditional cash transfer on health care utilization and a variety of...