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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.

The Effects of Crowdsourced Information Sharing on Farmers and Agricultural Markets in Pakistan

Buyers often have limited information on service quality in low- and middle-income countries. In the absence of information, buyers may receive low quality services or may choose not to seek out service at all, limiting potential benefits for households. Researchers evaluated a program in Pakistan...

The Impact of a Comprehensive Re-entry Program on Employment and Recidivism in the United States

Anthony Braga
Philip J. Cook
Songman Kang
Mallory O'Brien
Researchers examined whether a program that provides people who are incarcerated with services both prior to and after their release could improve employment prospects and reduce recidivism. One year later, the program increased employment and reduced the likelihood of re-arrest. However, earnings...

Reducing Inappropriate Prescribing of Controlled Substances in the United States

Shantanu Agrawal
David Yokum
Researchers tested whether an informative letter campaign could reduce inappropriate prescribing of controlled substances in Medicare Part D. Letters had no detectable effect on prescribing. In ongoing work, researchers are testing alternative versions of letters.

Improving Take-Up of Tax Benefits in the United States

In the United States, many people who are eligible for social and economic benefits do not claim those benefits. Researchers partnered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to test the effectiveness of different messages to taxpayers designed to encourage them to claim certain tax benefits.

Role of Information on the Returns of Post-Primary Education on School Dropout

Researchers and the Ministry of Education evalauted at scale two low-cost ways of providing relevant information to help students and their families make more informed decisions. Results suggest that the programs were effective at changing educational plans and lowering dropout rates, while...

The Effect of Mentoring on School Attendance and Academic Outcomes: A Randomized Evaluation of the Check & Connect Program

Sandra Christenson
Amy Claessens
Ashley Cureton
Mimi Engel
Ijun Lai
Mary Clair Turner
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of Check & Connect (C&C), a school-based mentoring program, to evaluate its impact on school attendance and academic outcomes. For students who began the program in grades 5-7, the program decreased student absences and caused participating students to...