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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 Use of Self-Help Groups as a Savings Commitment Device in Chile

Felipe Kast
Stephan Meier
Researchers in Chile compared the effects of self-help peer groups and text-message feedback on entrepreneurs’ ability to make regular deposits into a savings account. Receiving feedback by text message increased savings by almost as much as being a member of a self-help group, suggesting that the...

Changing Financial Incentives for Medicare Providers to Encourage Home Dialysis in the United States

Liran Einav
Yunan Ji
Researchers analyzed the impact of a new reimbursement model to incentivize end-stage kidney disease providers and facilities to provide home dialysis on home dialysis rates. During the first year of the study, there was no statistically significant difference in home dialysis rates between hospital...

Getting Out the Vote in Local Elections in the United States

David W. Nickerson
Researchers examined the impact of door-to-door canvassing on voter turnout in the 2001 local elections in six US cities. The results indicate that voters who were contacted by canvassers were significantly more likely to vote in a wide variety of settings.

The Impact of Free Tuition Program Design on College Applications and Enrollment in the United States

Elizabeth Burland
Katherine Michelmore
Stephanie Owen
Shwetha Raghuraman
Researchers investigated how two different free tuition programs for low-income students affected application and enrollment to the University of Michigan. An unconditional offer substantially increased application and enrollment while a conditional offer had a much smaller effect on applications...

Mobile Money and Agricultural Investment in Mozambique

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of offering interest-paying mobile money saving accounts to farmers, and in some cases farmers’ friends, on their financial behavior such as agricultural investment. Providing farmers access to interest-bearing mobile savings accounts...

Designing Contracts for Healthcare Providers in India

Katherine Donato
Manoj Mohanan
Yulya Truskinovsky
Researchers evaluated two types of reward contracts—one that rewarded providers for increased use of inputs and one that rewarded providers for improved health outputs—among rural obstetric care providers in India. They found that both contracts reduced post-partum hemorrhage by 20-23 percent.

Linking Weather Index Insurance and Credit to Improve Agricultural Productivity in Rural Ethiopia

Shukri Ahmed
Alexandros Sarris
Researchers combined subsidized weather index insurance with input loans for fertilizer and modern seed use for smallholder farmers in rural Ethiopia to investigate the impact of these products on demand for insurance and resulting shifts in agricultural technology use and crop yields. Results...