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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.

Mobile Phone-Based Extension Services and Agricultural Advice for Cotton Farmers in Gujarat, India

Researchers introduced a mobile phone-based agricultural extension service to evaluate its impact on knowledge and adoption of effective farming methods among cotton farmers in Gujarat, India. They found that the service was highly effective in nudging farmers to adopt a number of recommended...

Changing Pedagogy to Improve Math Skills in Preschools in Peru

Mariana Alfonso
Emma Naslund-Hadley
In Peru, researchers evaluated the impact of a tailored inquiry- and problem-based learning approach on preschoolers’ performance in math. The program improved overall mathematics outcomes, which persisted for some content areas even one year after the program ended.

Social Pressure and Voter Turnout in the United States

Christopher Larimer
To study the effect of increased social pressure on turnout, researchers sent households one of four randomly selected mailings eleven days before Michigan’s August 2006 primary election. All four mailings increased turnout, but informing households of their neighbors’ past voting records raised...

Financial Trust Workshops to Encourage Savings Behaviors in Peru

Camila Navajas Ahumada
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in rural Peru to assess the impact of providing a workshop designed to foster trust in banks on participants’ levels of trust, financial literacy, and saving and account use patterns of cash transfer recipients. Overall, participants who were offered the...

Building Trust in Fertilizer Quality Among Farmers in Tanzania

Annemie Maertens
Researchers conducted an evaluation to test the impact of an information campaign about fertilizer quality on farmers’ beliefs and their purchase and use of fertilizer. The information campaign led farmers to change their beliefs about the quality of fertilizer available in local markets and to buy...

Can Active Labor Market Policies Combat Youth Unemployment in Denmark?

Jonas Maibom
Michael Svarer
Following the 2007 financial crisis and the subsequent increase in youth unemployment, the Danish government intensified programs aimed at helping young job seekers find work. These programs, also known as active labor market programs (ALMPs), typically include job search counseling, training...

Training Teachers in Curiosity-Based Science Pedagogy in India

Ariel Gomez
Vinay Jha
Sandeep Kumar
Despite making great strides in expanding access to education, developing countries like India continue to lag in measures of actual student learning. To understand how quality of education mediates learning, this randomized control trial evaluates a pedagogical intervention training science...