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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.

Property Tax Experiment in Punjab, Pakistan: Testing the Role of Wages, Incentives and Audit on Tax Inspectors' Behavior

Researchers conducted a two-year randomized evaluation of incentive schemes for tax officials in Punjab, Pakistan that found performance pay significantly increased tax revenues without harming taxpayer satisfaction.

The Impact of Informational Meetings on Secondary School Choice in Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of short informational meetings with students and parents on secondary school choice. They found that these meetings increased students’ and parents’ knowledge of the application process and led students to pick lower-cost and more...

Identifying Information Asymmetries in a Consumer Credit Market in South Africa

Researchers sought to understand different types of information asymmetries and how they relate to loan default rates in South Africa. Borrowers given high interest rates had a greater incentive to default as it was more costly to repay the loan, but there was little evidence that borrowers...

Changing Teenage Girls' Aspirations and Educational Attainment through Increased Female Representation in Leadership in India

In 2008, women accounted for 18 percent of parliamentarians worldwide, and only 13 countries had a female head of government. In India, researchers studied the impact of a constitutional amendment that reserved village council leadership positions for women on adolescent girls’ career aspirations...

Measuring the Impact of Clientelism on Voter Behavior in Benin

Christel Vermeersch
Voters in Benin had a preference for clientelist political platforms, but certain subsets of voters such as women, consumers of mass media, and members of social organizations were less receptive to clientelism.

Changing Financial Incentives for Medicare Providers to Encourage Home Dialysis in the United States

Liran Einav
Yunan Ji
Researchers analyzed the impact of a new reimbursement model to incentivize end-stage kidney disease providers and facilities to provide home dialysis on home dialysis rates. During the first year of the study, there was no statistically significant difference in home dialysis rates between hospital...