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Peer Pressure and Educational Investments in the United States

Researchers offered high school students the opportunity to sign up for free access to an online SAT preparatory course. Some students were told that their decision to sign up would be public, and others were told that their decision would be kept private. In non-honors classes, sign-up rates were...

The Impact of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Cash Transfers on High-Risk Young Men in Liberia

Sebastian Chaskel
Margaret Sheridan
To understand the long-term effectiveness of CBT among adults, researchers evaluated the impact of a short-term CBT program and the distribution of unconditional cash transfers on the behavior of high-risk young men in Liberia. CBT reduced criminal behavior among participants both in the short run...

Providing Information and Application Assistance to Improve Social Pension Enrollment in India

Sarika Gupta
The researcher evaluated the impact of providing eligible women with program information and various levels of application assistance for the Delhi Widow Pension Scheme on program knowledge, application completion, and enrollment. Offering more involved application assistance increased average...

The Impact of Informational Mailings on SNAP Enrollment in the United States

Researchers studied the impact of providing outreach and assistance to households that are likely eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, on enrollment in the program.

The Impact of Defaults and Financial Incentives on Savings Decisions on a Mobile Money Platform in Afghanistan

In partnership with a mobile network operator launching a new phone-based savings account, researchers evaluated the role of defaults and financial incentives on savings decisions. Two months after the launch of the phone-based savings account, the company’s employees randomly assigned a default...

The Impact of Gender-Targeted Cash Transfers in North Macedonia

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of targeting cash transfers to women on household spending and women’s empowerment. Targeting the cash transfer to mothers increased household spending on food. Women offered the transfers also had stronger measures of empowerment...

Cash & Stash: Encouraging Saving at a Check Casher in the United States

Many financial products such as 401k plans have been designed to help US consumers overcome limited self-control and limited attention in order to reach their savings goals. However, reaching low-income consumers with such behaviorally-designed financial products can be difficult. In the Bronx, NY...