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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.

Providing Endowments to Improve Bargaining Outcomes for Microentrepreneurs in Ghana

Gisella Kagy
Lena Song
Researchers randomly provided more or less cash to garment-making firm owners in Ghana before a bargaining game to evaluate the impact of endowment on the negotiated sale price of a good. Owners of garment-making microenterprises with lower household liquidity agreed to lower sale prices during the...

Removing Higher Education Barriers of Entry: Test Training and Classroom Peer Effects in Chile

In an ongoing study, researchers are evaluating whether providing subsidized test preparation to high-achieving, low-income students can diminish the barriers to entry to institutions of higher education in Chile.

Housing Lottery to Increase Demand for Formal Government Housing and Improve Welfare in Ethiopia

In low- to middle-income countries around the world, nearly one billion people lived in urban informal settlements as of 2018. Rapid urbanization in most large African cities has led to both more people and a higher proportion of people living in informal settlements over time. Researchers conducted...

Targeting Central Lead Farmers to Boost Agricultural Technology Adoption in Malawi

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test whether the position of a trained lead farmer within a community’s social network affected other farmers’ decisions to adopt a new agricultural technology in Malawi. Results suggest that having access to multiple lead farmers/central individuals...

Promoting Adoption of New Rice Varieties: Addressing the Costs of Early Adoption in Sierra Leone

Jeannie Annan
Charles Dixon
Frances Kimmins
In Sierra Leone, researchers are testing whether price subsidies and agricultural extension training can reduce the costs of early adoption, and whether using the improved seed varieties will ultimately benefit poor farmers.

The Price Effects of Cash Versus In-Kind Transfers in Mexico

Jesse Cunha
Giacomo De Giorgi
When making transfers to poor families, many governments choose to transfer goods rather than cash, often in order to encourage the consumption of specific goods. In southern Mexico, researchers studied the effects of both cash and in-kind transfers on the demand and supply of food. They found that...

Communication Skills Training for Mothers to Improve Child Health in Uganda

In Uganda, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a communication training program targeting mothers on child health investments. The intervention increased spousal discussion about the family’s health, nutrition, and finances.