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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.

Asset-based Microfinance in Pakistan

Faisal Bari
Kashif Malik
In Pakistan, researchers partnered with a microfinance institution to conduct a randomized evaluation to test how larger asset-based loans for purchasing business equipment, combined with flexible repayment options, affected business performance and household well-being. Business owners who received...

Borrower Responses to Fingerprinting for Loan Enforcement in Malawi

In Malawi, researchers analyzed whether fingerprinting borrowers from a microfinance institution would have an effect on repayment rates. Using fingerprinting for loan enforcement increased repayment by 40 percent among Malawian farmers with the highest default risk.

The Impact of Secondary Education on Economic Decision-Making in Malawi

Researchers evaluated whether randomly providing financial support for secondary education could improve economic decision-making in addition to educational outcomes for secondary school students in Malawi. Results show that the intervention improved educational outcomes and economic decision-making...

Providing School Report Cards to Improve Quality and Pricing of Education in Pakistan

In this study, researchers introduced report cards with child and school test scores to evaluate the impact on public and private schools’ cost, performance, and enrollment. The program reduced private school fees, improved test scores, and increased primary school enrollment.

The Impact of a Gender-Sensitive Training for Police Officers on Gender-Based Violence in India

Researchers are evaluating the impact of a gender-sensitization training for police officers in Bihar, India, using expressive arts techniques, on police officers’ attitudes towards gender-based violence as well as women’s safety and economic agency.

Impact of School Leadership Training on Management Practices and Student Learning in India

Lee Crawfurd
In this randomized evaluation, researchers will test the impact of a large-scale leadership training program in India on improving school management practices and student learning. The intervention is ongoing, and results are forthcoming.

Credit, Change, and Lost Sales: A Field Experiment Among Firms in Kenya

Researchers in Kenya issued a questionnaire to firms which may have made lost sales and profits due to poor change management became more salient. A second intervention more explicitly emphasized the costs of having insufficient change. Highlighting the importance of carrying correct change helped...

The Role of Mobile Banking in Expanding Trade Credit and Business Development in Kenya

Trade credit, which is usually provided by up-stream suppliers to down-stream firms, can help small businesses to purchase non-perishable goods for resale and free up resources for other uses. However, provision of trade credit may be limited by high transaction costs, up-stream liquidity...