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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.

Information and Price Variations to Reduce Residential Energy Use in the United States

Researchers evaluated the effects of introducing price increases during peak periods and also real-time information about electricity usage to residential customers in the United States. Households that received feedback about usage reduced consumption and individuals were more responsive to pricing...

Microfinance to Increase Agricultural Technology Adoption among Rural Farmers in India

Researchers evaluated the expansion of a rural financial services provider in Tamil Nadu, India in order to understand how access to financial services, information, and exposure to risk affect technology adoption and well-being among farming households.

Role of Conditional Cash Transfers in Early Childhood Development in Mexico

James Manley
Lynnette Neufeld
There is substantial evidence that, in the short-term, conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs improve health and nutritional outcomes for young children. Researchers studied the effects of a CCT program in Mexico, which required school attendance and preventive medical care, on child health and...

Increasing Mobile Banking Use Among Rural Populations in Ghana

Researchers assessed the impact of financial incentives and peer endorsement on mobile banking adoption and formal savings in Ghana. While financial incentives boosted adoption by 50 percent, peer endorsement was twice as effective, leading to sustained mobile banking use and a 30 percent increase...

School Grants and Parents' Education Spending in India

Pramila Krishnan
Venkatesh Sundararaman
Researchers studied how a school grant program affected learning outcomes and household spending. After the first year of the grant program, students in treatment schools performed significantly better than those in comparison schools, but by the end of the second year, there was no detectable...

Providing Credit Information to Borrowers to Improve Repayment in Guatemala

Researchers ran a large randomized credit information training program that described the existence and workings of the bureau to the clients of this lender. The results indicate that the credit bureau generated large efficiency gains for the lender, and that these gains were augmented when...

Secured Transaction Reform to Increase Access to Capital for Small and Medium Enterprises in Colombia

Entrepreneurs in developing countries face a number of barriers to expanding their businesses and employing more workers, including limited access to credit and other financial services. In Colombia, researchers are investigating whether a regulatory reform that allows small and medium enterprises...