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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.

Extra Contract Teachers in Andhra Pradesh, India

Venkatesh Sundararaman
Researchers evaluated the impact of hiring extra contract teachers in primary schools in India on student learning. Results show that students in schools with an extra contract teacher performed significantly better than those in comparison schools in both math and language areas. Evidence also...

Leveraging Local Governments to Support Rice Mechanization in India

Working with local government leaders and agricultural extension agents, the researcher is conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of promoting a mechanization technology. Uniquely, the researcher will closely track how employment shifts for women who formerly did the mechanized work.

Reducing Formalization Costs for Small Businesses in Colombia

Camila Navajas Ahumada
Marcela Meléndez
In the context of a recent government policy that reduced costs of formalization, researchers provided information on the formal entry process through workshops and personalized visits to determine the impacts of information on firms’ decision to formalize.

Community Based Rangeland Management in Namibia

David Coppock
Luke Crowley
Susan Durham
Dylan Groves
Brien Norton
R. Douglas Ramsey
In Namibia, researchers measured the impact of a community-based natural resource management program on livestock assets, income, social cohesion, and land quality. Community-based rangeland management improved rangeland grazing management, community governance of the rangelands, and farmer...

Demand for Rainwater Harvesting Devices in Uganda

In Uganda, researchers studied the demand for rainwater storage devices, the effectiveness of various marketing strategies in promoting them, and their impact on indicators such as school attendance and women’s participation in the labor market.

Information and Referrals at the End of Middle School, France

Dominique Goux
Researchers evaluated the effects of a program designed to improve parental knowledge about students’ opportunities at the end of middle school on schooling decisions and dropout behavior. The program helped parents and their children make more realistic educational choices, reducing grade...

Providing a Collaborative Civic Education Program to Students in France, Greece, and Spain

Sandra McNally
Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela
Daniel Santín
Researchers evaluated the impact of a civic education program involving learning-by-doing and student-centered teaching approaches in middle schools across three European countries. The program increased students’ academic performance, respect for school rules, and friendship networks with people...