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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.

Local Leadership and the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods in Bolivia

María P. Recalde
Researchers used a randomized evaluation to test how local leaders influence the voluntary provision of public goods. They solicited contributions for environmental education books, which all members of the community would be able to access, and varied whether leaders made public contributions. They...

The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment in the United States

Heidi Allen
Mira Bernstein
Jonathan Gruber
Joseph P. Newhouse
Eric Schneider
Jae Song
Bill Wright
Alan Zaslavsky
In a series of evaluations, researchers took advantage of a lottery that gave low-income uninsured adults the chance to apply for Medicaid in the United States to examine the impact of health insurance on these outcomes over the first two years.

The Impact of Delayed Wage Payments on Spending and Investment in Malawi

Lasse Brune
Qingxiao Li
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of paying workers on a weekly basis or in one lump sum, as well as of receiving payments in contexts with greater temptation to spend, on their spending and investment decisions. Workers assigned to receive lump-sum wages were more...

Handwashing and Behavior Change in Bangladesh

Dayea Oh
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of an edutainment intervention at schools and the provision of handwashing resources at home on handwashing at school and at home. These findings suggest that encouraging behavior change in one setting may crowd out like behavior in...

The Impact of Farmer-to-Farmer Training on Agricultural Productivity in Uganda

Jeremie Gignoux
Rick Kamugisha
Jane Kugonza
Margaret Najjingo Mangheni
Researchers evaluated the impact of a farmer-to-farmer training program on Ugandan farmers’ knowledge and use of improved dairy farming practices, as well as dairy production and revenues. Overall, the farmer-to-farmer training program improved farmers’ knowledge, productivity and revenues.

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Health Outcomes in Chelsea, Massachusetts

Benjamin Le Cook
The City of Chelsea implemented a cash transfer program called Chelsea Eats, which provided eligible households with up to US$400 per month for nine months. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation on the impact of the unconditional cash transfer on health care utilization and a variety of...

Intergenerational Conflict and Schooling Decisions in Brazil

Lucas Coffman
A study on parents’ demand for conditionality in a Brazilian cash transfer program revealed that parents are willing to pay to for the conditionality in order to monitor their children’s school attendance.

Participation and Regulatory Compliance Amongst Firms in Vietnam

Markus Taussig
Researchers evaluated whether participating in the law-making process influenced firms’ compliance with regulations in Vietnam. Firms that participated in the drafting of new regulation had more positive views of the government’s regulatory authority, were more likely to allow auditors to examine...