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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.

Past Felony Conviction, Participation, and Political Reintegration in the United States

Researchers evaluated the impact of mailings that informed people with a record of felony conviction of their eligibility to vote on political participation. The mailing increased political participation, particularly among individuals that were active voters prior to incarceration.

Information Campaigns to Increase Mobile Banking Adoption in Ghana

In Ghana, researchers worked with a bank that provides services to low-income customers with limited access to mainstream banking to evaluate the impact of sending pre-recorded informational voice calls and text messages on the adoption of mobile banking. Clients that received messages encouraging...

Preventing Youth Violence and Dropout in the United States

Roseanna Ander
Philip J. Cook
Kenneth Dodge
George Farkas
Harold Pollack
Anuj Shah
Laurence Steinberg
In the United States, researchers evaluated the impact of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program designed to teach high-risk male students in secondary schools to regulate harmful, automatic behaviors. Results demonstrated that the program led to a significant drop in arrests per student...

The Impact of Encouraging Mobile Money Use on Women’s Empowerment in Tanzania

Supporting women’s empowerment, the ability for women to control their resources and make their own choices, is a common policy goal both as its own outcome and as a vehicle to drive other change like improving children’s health and education. Many empowerment programs have targeted women’s income...

Evaluating The Child Development Grant Program (CGDP) in Nigeria

In Northern Nigeria, researchers are testing the effect of providing mothers with unconditional cash transfers, coupled with varying levels of information and guidance on nutrition, to encourage parents to use funds for their children’s nutrition and food security.

Reducing Parent-School Information Gaps and Improving Education Outcomes: Evidence from High-Frequency Text Messages

Samuel Berlinski
Mattias Busso
Claudia Martinez
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of regular informational text messages to parents on children’s academic performance. The intervention improved math grades and attendance, although it did not impact negative classroom behavior on average. These effects were generally...