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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.

Financial Aid and College Access in the Dominican Republic

Juan Ariel Jimenez
Sebastián Otero
Underprivileged students in the Dominican Republic face a series of barriers to access post-secondary education. Despite existing scholarship programs, application rates for financial aid offered by the government are extremely low, and poor and rural students are much less likely to apply for and...

Improving tax compliance through enforcement campaigns in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In partnership with the Kasai Central Provincial Tax Ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the researcher conducted a randomized evaluation to identify the direct and indirect effects of varying levels of enforcement on firms’ tax compliance and their likelihood to pay bribes.

Revealing Stereotypes about Immigrant Students to Middle School Teachers in Italy

Researchers evaluated the impact of informing middle school teachers in Italy about their implicit stereotypes towards immigrant students on end-of-year grading. Both math and literature teachers eligible to receive feedback before the end-of-the-year grading gave higher grades to immigrant students...

Edutainment Campaigns to Address Social Norms and Perceptions about Child Marriage in Indonesia

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of an entertainment-education short film informational campaign (i.e. edutainment campaign) designed to inform adolescent girls and parents of the costs of child marriage on the norms and perceptions about child marriage in Indonesia...

Partnership Schools for Liberia (PSL)

Researchers worked with Innovations for Poverty Action, the Liberian Ministry of Education, and the group of eight private operators to conduct a randomized evaluation to assess the effects of outsourcing management of public schools after one and three years.

The Effect of Smart Metering on Revenue Collection, Electricity Access, and Supply

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing a new technology--smart meters--on consumer payments and service quality. Research is ongoing; results are forthcoming.

Delegating Property Tax Collection to Local Elites in the DRC

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation during the 2018 property tax collection campaign to test the impact of delegating tax collection to local chiefs. Where local chiefs collected taxes, households were more tax compliant than where state collectors collected, mainly because chiefs had...

Personalized Consultations to Increase Uptake of Social Benefits in France

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of offering personalized consultations to individuals who were potentially eligible for expanded social benefits on their benefit uptake. Overall, the program led to increases in claims submitted and benefits granted.