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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.

Supporting 18-25 Year-Olds Through Long-Term Mentoring Plus Financial Assistance in France (Pass' Accompagnement)

Vera Chiodi
Nicolas Studer
In France, researchers evaluated the effect of a financial independence and social integration program for young adults living in government-subsidized housing. They analyzed its impact on the young adults’ professional lives, housing situations, financial independence, and general welfare.

The Effect of Bureaucrat Performance Scorecards on Service Delivery and Bribes in Bangladesh

Researchers evaluated the impact of performance scorecards on the speed of delivery and the payment of bribes. Results show that the intervention increased on-time service delivery, but did not decrease bribe payments on average; bribes among high-performers increased.

Overcoming Barriers to Fertilizer Use in Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of offering coupons, facilitated discussion groups, and measuring spoons on fertilizer usage, fertilizer knowledge, and agriculture-related discussions amongst farmers. While discussion groups alone had no impact on fertilizer use...

The Impact of Credit Scores on Lending in Colombia

Ximena Cadena
Alexandra Cristea
Héber M. Delgado-Medrano
Daniel Paravisini
Researchers examined whether small incentives and short-term goals could encourage Colombian loan officers to stop procrastinating. Under the new incentive structure, loan officers spread their work more evenly throughout each month, and they met a much greater percentage of their monthly targets.

Weekday vs. Weekend Text-Based Parenting Support in the United States

Hans Fricke
David Song
Ben York
In Texas, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of text message-based parenting support delivered at different times of the week on young children’s literacy and numeracy development. They found that text messages delivered on weekends were best for supporting children...

The Impact of PROGRESA on Health in Mexico

Simone Peart Boyce
Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are designed to incentivize parents to invest in their children's health and wellbeing, while providing cash transfers to improve their current welfare. Researchers evaluated the impact of Mexico’s national CCT program (“PROGRESA”) on a wide range of health...

Information Disclosure, Cognitive Biases, and Payday Borrowing in the United States

Adair Morse
Researchers provided payday borrowers in the United States information about the true costs of payday loans in order to find out whether they would respond by changing their demand for the product. Better informed individuals reduced their demand significantly, suggesting that getting consumers to...