Blog

News

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.

Health Education for Microcredit Clients in Peru

Researchers assessed whether the provision of health training alongside microfinance services impacted the health or financial behavior of Peruvian microcredit clients. They found that additional health training affected neither.

Futures Prices and Risk Hedging in Gujarat, India

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of a crop price awareness program on reducing price uncertainty and promoting forward-looking planting decisions among farmers in India.

Messaging Strategies to Promote Safe Water and Hygiene in Bangladesh

Kaniz Jannat
David Levine
Thomas Polley
Leanne Unicomb
Researchers tested whether sharing messages that appealed to negative emotions, like shame or disgust, increased households’ hand washing behavior and willingness to pay for water chlorination in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Negative messaging had no impact on chlorination levels or willingness to pay, but...

Consulting and Capital Experiments with Microenterprise Tailors in Ghana

Researchers partnered with the consulting firm Ernst & Young to test whether providing tailors in Accra with individualized consulting, a sizable cash grant, or both can facilitate growth. Initially, tailors experimented with investments and management practices, but most learned overtime that these...

Video-Mediated Agricultural Extension to Increase Technology Adoption Among Farmers in Ethiopia

Gashaw Abate
Simrin Makhija
David J. Spielman
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a video-mediated extension approach on the uptake of technologies recommended by the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture. The video-mediated instruction increased uptake through improved access to extension and farmer knowledge but...

Demand for Nontraditional Cookstoves in Bangladesh

Robert Bailis
Puneet Dwivedi
Lynn Hildemann
In Bangladesh, researchers evaluated how varying husband-wife dynamics, information, and prices could affect purchases of widely available “improved” stoves, which substantially reduce indoor air pollution. They found that women have stronger preferences for improved stoves than their husbands, but...

Training and Capital for Microentrepreneurs in Chile

Claudia Martinez
Esteban Puentes
Jaime Ruiz-Tagle
Researchers partnered with the Chilean Ministry of Social Development to evaluate a micro-entrepreneur training and cash transfer program in Chile. They examined the effects of business training and cash transfers on individual employment and income. The program increased total employment, income...

Testing for Peer Screening and Enforcement in Microlending: Evidence from South Africa

In South Africa, researchers evaluated whether people have enough information to identify reliable borrowers among their peers and if they can help enforce loan repayment. They found that when given incentives, peers were not effective at screening for creditworthiness, but they were effective at...