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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.

Does Campaign Spending Work in the United States?

In partnership with candidates, researcher Alan Gerber conducted five randomized evaluations in two states to measure the effect of campaign mailings on vote shares. The results suggest that incumbent spending has a negligible effect on vote share, whereas challenger spending was effective.

Train the Trainer: Promoting Savings by Training Banking Business Correspondent Agents in Andhra Pradesh

Laura Litvine
Santadarshan Sadhu
Researchers are testing the relative effect on knowledge and savings behaviors of training customers through business correspondent agents and giving customers financial information directly, using an innovative mobile-based information platform.

Relationship Banking in India

Researchers evaluated whether the intensity of personalized interaction between borrowers and loan officers in India influenced borrowers’ repayment behavior. They found that clients with personal relationship managers at the bank had better repayment behavior but were not more satisfied with their...

The Impact of Drought-Tolerant Rice on Local Labor Markets in India

Researchers are testing the impact that stress-tolerant seeds, which have better yields than conventional varieties under weather shocks, affect landless laborers.

Information and Price Variations to Reduce Residential Energy Use in the United States

Researchers evaluated the effects of introducing price increases during peak periods and also real-time information about electricity usage to residential customers in the United States. Households that received feedback about usage reduced consumption and individuals were more responsive to pricing...

The Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market

Amira Abulafi
Claudia Goldin
For-profit (and often online) universities account for nearly half of all postsecondary growth over the last decade, yet relatively little is known about how employers value and compare these education types. To test this, researchers randomly submitted resumes with different characteristics and...

Welfare Benefits of Decentralized Solar Energy for the Rural Poor in India

To evaluate the demand for solar electricity, researchers randomly offered solar microgrid connections at different prices to households in rural areas of Bihar, India. Demand for microgrids was highly variable and low when they were offered at market price, likely because there were several other...