Blog

News

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.

Do Public or Private Providers of Employment Services Matter for Employment? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Denmark

Kai Rehwald
Michael Svarer
Though sometimes referred to as “a feature of the welfare state,” some employment and training programs have recently been contracted out to private enterprises. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of public and private employment service providers on labor market...

Union Leaders and Factory Workers’ Collective Action in Myanmar

Labor movements can improve workers’ lives but face great difficulty in getting workers to agree on common goals and take collective actions. In garment factory workers’ group discussions on minimum wage policies in Myanmar, researchers randomly included union leaders to study whether the presence...

Graduating Microenterprises to Larger Loans in Egypt

This evaluation tests the impacts of providing larger loans to microcredit borrowers on both firms and microfinance institutions.

Social Integration Effects of Pre-Migration Information Sessions in the Philippines

Victoria S. Licuanan
Andreas Steinmayr
Erwin Tiongson
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to investigate whether an expanded and more thorough version of an orientation program in the Philippines improved socioeconomic outcomes and facilitated settlement for migrants upon moving to the United States. The research team found that though the...

Graduating the Ultra-Poor in Egypt

Following a series of evaluations of the Graduation approach in 15 other countries, researchers are now evaluating the impact of the Graduation approach on the livelihoods of the ultra-poor in Upper Egypt.

Providing Information about Job Seekers' Skills to Increase Employment Outcomes in South Africa

Eliana Carranza
In South Africa, researchers partnered with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator to evaluate the impact of providing information about a job seeker’s skills on job seekers’ beliefs, search effort, and employment outcomes. Providing information to job seekers and prospective employers increased...

The Effects of Exposure to Financial Markets on Voter Behavior in Israel

Moses Shayo
Chagai Meir Weiss
In many societies facing violent conflict, policymakers have attempted a number of strategies to reduce conflict and generate support for peace initiatives, but rarely consider the role that exposure to financial markets can play in mitigating social conflict. Researchers evaluated the impacts of...