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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 Impacts of Formal Savings Accounts in Rural Kenya

Sarah Green
Anthony Keats
Researchers examined the impact of access to banking services for the first time on households in rural Kenya. While savings account and credit usage rates were low overall because of poor service quality and low levels of trust in the institutions, access to the accounts helped some households rely...

What Generates Growth in Microenterprises? Evidence from Sri Lanka

To study the employment limitation of microenterprises, researchers offered microentrepreneurs capital to incentivize them to hire workers. Results showed that a wage subsidy did not lead to lasting increases in employment sales or profits.

The Role of Emotions on Individuals Decisions to Join Armed Groups in Eastern Congo

Raul Sanchez de la Sierra
By leveraging a unique, long-lasting relationship with an armed organization in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the researcher aims to better understand who joins armed organizations and why, as well as the effect of the participation motives on performance inside the group.

The Impact of an Online Entrepreneurial Mindset Training for Youth in Ecuador

Igor Asanov
Guido Buenstorf
Diego d'Andria
Francisco Flores
David McKenzie
Mona Mensmann
Mathis Schulte
Thomas Åstebro
Recent studies have shown that a psychology-based entrepreneurial mindset training can have promising effects on business outcomes. In Ecuador, researchers are evaluating whether these skills can be taught at scale and online by testing the effects of an entrepreneurial mindset training program on...

The Impact of Agro-dealer Training on Input Adoption and Productivity Among Smallholder Farmers in Niger

Adam Mamadou
Isaac Osei-Akoto
In Niger, researchers evaluated the impact of a training program for input distributors (agro-dealers) on smallholder access to and use of agricultural inputs. Researchers found that trainings for agro-dealers combined with a demonstration plot increased the share of farmers adopting improved seeds...

The Roles of Water Treatment Subsidies and Community Health Workers in Improving Child Health and Chlorine Usage in Malawi

Researchers partnered with Partners in Health (PIH) to conduct a randomized evaluation to test the impact of monthly coupons and different CHW delivery methods on chlorine usage and child health outcomes in Southern Malawi. They find that the coupon program had stronger impacts on both outcomes and...

Addressing Intimate Partner Violence Through Cash Transfers in Mali

Melissa Hidrobo
Shalini Roy
Researchers evaluated the effect of an unconditional cash transfer program targeting mostly men on intimate partner violence in a context where nearly forty percent of households are polygamous. Polygamous households receiving the transfer experienced less physical and emotional violence, while...