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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.

Mobilizing Group Membership: The Impact of Personalization and Social Pressure Emails in the United States

James N. Druckman
This study evaluated the efficacy of three different types of emails in encouraging group membership: an impersonal email, a personalized email, and a personalized email that included an element of social pressure. Researchers found that membership increased most among recipients of the social...

The Effects of Canvassing, Phone Calls, and Direct Mail on Voter Turnout in the United States

Researchers examined the effects of personal canvassing, phone calls, and direct mail on voter turnout shortly before the 1998 general election in the US city of New Haven. Personal canvassing had a far greater influence on voter participation than three pieces of professionally crafted mail...

Reintegrating Incarcerated Felons into the Political System in the United States

Daniel Biggers
David Hendrey
Gregory A. Huber
Marc Meredith
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.

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...

Impacts and Challenges of a Teacher Training Program in Nepal

Julie Schaffner
Uttam Sharma
Training teachers to improve teacher quality and student learning is a common strategy taken by policymakers. In Nepal, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of a government teacher training program for math and science teachers to evaluate the impact on student learning in secondary schools...

Offering Amenities to Increase Health Care Demand in Mexico

Researchers conducted an evaluation to test the impact of offering a high-amenity diagnostic consultation for cataracts at different prices on uptake of an underutilized service—cataract surgery—in Mexico. Lower prices for the high-amenity consultation increased exposure to amenities, which...

Evaluating The Child Development Grant Program 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.