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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.

Sick Leave Reminders and Worker Health in Bangladesh

Researchers working with a large apparel maker in Bangladesh are evaluating the impact of phone call reminders sharing information about their employer’s support for workers to use their company's paid sick leave to increase worker retention.

Leveling the Playing Field for High School Choice: A Field Experiment of Informational Interventions in the United States

Researchers evaluated the impact of several informational interventions with different modes of delivery and customization levels on high school choice outcomes among middle school students in New York City. All interventions made students less likely to rank a low graduation rate high school as...

Nurturing Curiosity to Enhance Learning in Turkey

Ipek Mumcu
In Turkey, researchers evaluated the impact of a new pedagogical approach aimed at cultivating primary school students’ curiosity, particularly in science, to improve learning outcomes. Students whose teachers adopted the approach displayed greater curiosity, ability to retain knowledge, and science...

Group Versus Individual Liability in the Philippines

Xavier Giné
In this study, researchers randomly selected existing group-lending centers to convert to an individual liability model. They found no difference in repayment rates between individuals assigned individual liability and those assigned group liability, no change in overall profitability for the bank...

Measuring the Impact of Microcredit on Borrowing and Business Outcomes in the Philippines

Researchers measured the impact of individual-liability microcredit on marginally creditworthy applicants in the Philippines. They found that increased access to microcredit expanded borrowing and improved risk management and sharing, but it also led clients to shrink their businesses.

Capacity-building with small and medium enterprises for emissions reductions and firm growth in Türkiye

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of emissions reductions-focused loan support to small and medium firms in Türkiye on reducing these firms’ greenhouse gas emissions and protecting firm growth.

Limited Insurance Within the Household in Kenya

Jonathan Robinson
Researchers examined whether intra-household risk-sharing mechanisms such as financial transfers between spouses operate efficiently in Western and Nyanza Provinces of Kenya and found that intra-household insurance to protect against economic shocks was inefficient among daily income earners.

Impact of Watchdog Journalism on Public Service Provision in Tanzania

Researchers examined the impact of local watchdog journalism investigations on public service provision. Local journalism improved government performance and service delivery, likely by helping central governments monitor bureaucrats at the district-level.