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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.

Delivering Clean Water to Households in India

Fiona Burlig
Amir Jina
More than two billion people around the world lack access to clean drinking water, and current approaches to increasing access have fallen short. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of delivering clean water directly to households on the valuation of clean water, and...

Providing Therapy and Cash Transfers to Improve Older Adult Mental Health in India

Researchers evaluated the impact of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and cash transfers on functional impairment (or difficulty performing daily tasks), depression, and food security among adults 55 and older living alone in Tamil Nadu, India. At a three-week follow-up, cash transfers improved...

The Impact of Assignment to Different Managed Care Organizations on Medicaid Spending and Health Care Use in the United States

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the relative impact of assignment to different MCOs on health care utilization and expenditure.

Estimating the Human Costs of Debtor Prisons

In Egypt, a sizable portion of the prison population is incarcerated solely for failing to repay private debts, highlighting serious concerns about the social, economic, and legal consequences of debtor imprisonment. Researchers are conducting two randomized evaluations, the first tests the impact...

Tailored Microcredit in Rural Morocco

Researchers are evaluating the impact of improved microcredit loan design on its take-up, as well as the welfare and business conditions of borrowers.

Priming Adverse Events and Reports of Depression in Nigeria

Kevin McGee
Gbemisola Oseni
Julie Perng
Ryoko Sato
Tomomi Tanaka
Renos Vakis
To better understand how to measure and report depression, researchers randomized the order of questions in a national survey to examine the effect of triggering memories of difficult events, such as conflicts, shocks, and death, on reported levels of depression across households in Nigeria. They...