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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 Effect of Randomized School Admissions on Voter Participation in the United States

Understanding the factors that influence voting behavior is a central policy issue. Often voting outcomes directly determine funding of critical public goods such as public education.

The Degree of Ethnic Bias in Kenya

Lars Ivar Oppedal Berge
Simon Galle
Bertil Tungodden
Kelly Zhang
Researchers in Kenya conducted multiple lab studies at the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics to explore the degree of ethnic bias in the local population and assess how bias may affect participants’ behavior. Contrary to existing assumptions about ethnic preferences in Kenya, researchers found...

Providing High-Quality Online Lesson Plans to Improve Student Learning in the United States

Researchers evaluated the impact of providing teachers with access to high-quality online lessons and implementation support on student achievement in mathematics. Providing teachers with access to the lessons, reminders, and implementation support significantly increased student achievement.

Pay for Perfomance Incentives for Heathcare Workers in Pakistan

James Andreoni
Karrar Jaffar
Charles Sprenger
Polio is endemic in Pakistan, and vaccination campaigns often suffer when government health workers hired to administer the vaccine underperform. Researchers introduced individualized bonus contracts to health workers to evaluate the impact of time preferences on vaccine delivery and quality of...

The Impact of Teaching Teachers to Use Computer Assisted Learning on Student Math Performance in the United States

Researchers conducted two randomized evaluations to test the impact of coaching teachers on integrating CAL in their elementary and middle school mathematics instruction in two large, diverse school districts in the United States. The intervention led to improved math performance in one evaluation...

Charitable Giving by Corporations and Aristocrats in Germany

Researchers partnered with the Bavarian State Opera House to conduct a randomized evaluation to test the impact of different fundraising methods on the giving behavior of aristocrats and corporations. They found that aristocrats were more responsive than other donor types but corporations gave the...

Reducing Administrative Burden for Postpartum Individuals Accessing Primary Care in the United States

Researchers evaluated the impact of auto-scheduling appointments with targeted messages and nudge reminders on primary care engagement within four months after delivery for postpartum individuals with diabetes, hypertension, mental illness, or obesity in the United States. Individuals who received...

Disseminating Innovative Resources and Technologies to Smallholders in Ghana (DIRTS)

Mathias Fosu
Shashidhara Kolavalli
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of access to rainfall insurance either coupled with or compared to tailored extension advice, weather forecasts, and improved access to inputs on intensity of land cultivation and earnings for farmers. Preliminary results show that...