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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.

Greater than the sum: Designing credit that works for women

BBC
For Peace, keeping her head above water as a business owner was challenging as she balanced caring for her six children. It wasn't until she gained access to loans and received financial training that she was finally able to expand her business, grow her income, and ensure her teenagers continued in...

People say they prefer stories written by humans over AI-generated works, yet new study suggests that’s not quite true

We conducted a study to test whether this preference of humans over AI in creative works actually translates into consumer behavior. Amid the coming avalanche of AI-generated work, it is a question of real livelihoods for the millions of people worldwide employed in creative industries.

Video: Why spending smarter beats bigger budgets

TED
The good news on global development is that key indicators, like child mortality and school enrollment, are better today than at any point in human history. However, the bad news is that though many more children are surviving, large numbers are not thriving.

Opinion | The case for thoughtful cellphone restrictions in schools

For schools adopting cellphone policies, there is no one size fits all approach, and the Legislature is right to leave the specifics of cellphone restrictions up to individual districts.

March 2025 Newsletter

The March newsletter reflects on the end of USAID, clean air and water access in Egypt, and supporting public safety in the US.

Pedalling towards gender equality and empowerment

In Bihar, India and in rural Zambia, the government introduced programmes to address gender gaps in education by providing adolescent girls with bicycles for their commute to school.

Op-ed from Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo calls for a rethink of foreign aid

In a new op-ed, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo call for governments outside of the US, multilateral institutions, and philanthropists to take the lead on impactful and cost-effective foreign aid.

Ending period stigma in schools

In Madagascar, an RCT set out to end the stigma by discussing menstruation openly and seeking out Young Girl Leaders who could help their peers understand what was happening, and why it shouldn’t be a source of embarrassment or shame.