Blog

News

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.

Irrigation Tank Rehabilitation for Improved Agricultural Outcomes and Water Management in India

Xavier Giné
Anup Malani
The Government of Telangana is partnering with researchers to determine the impact of restoring water tanks for irrigation on water management, agricultural output, and farmers’ income.

The Impact of Financial Incentives for Traditional Birth Attendants on Postnatal Care Use in Nigeria

Adanna Chukwuma
Chinyere Mbachu
Researchers evaluated whether giving traditional birth attendants (TBAs) cash incentives for maternal postnatal referrals can increase uptake of skilled maternal postnatal care. Cash rewards increased referrals made by TBAs by 182 percent and more than tripled the proportion of clients that attended...

Virtual and Face-to-Face Peer Interactions to Improve the Quality of Business Proposals among Entrepreneurs in 49 Countries across Africa

Cristiana Benedetti-Fasil
Charles Brummitt
Tommaso Fornaciari
Dirk Hovy
Paolo Pin
Gaia Rubera
Fernando Vega-Redondo
Researchers compared the effects of face-to-face and virtual peer interaction on the submission and quality of business proposals by individuals from 49 African countries enrolled in an online entrepreneurship course. They found that face-to-face networks and the virtual interaction of groups of...

The Impact of Debt Relief in India and the Philippines

Researchers evaluated whether offering market vendors cash grants to pay off existing debt and financial training influenced future borrowing behavior. While market vendors were less likely to borrow and borrowed in smaller amounts in the short-term, most returned to debt within six weeks.

The Impact of Government Subsidies on Private Secondary School Performance in Uganda

Pierre De Galbert
Shwetlena Sabarwal
Researchers partnered with the Ugandan government to evaluate the impact of a public private partnership (PPP) program with low-cost private secondary schools on absorbing large increases in secondary school enrollment in Uganda. The PPP program led to both greater private school enrollment and...

The Impact of Stigma on Labor Market Assistance Take-Up in Egypt

Jamin D. Speer
Researchers studied the impact of acknowledging and refuting stigma on take-up of labor market assistance programs. The results of three randomized evaluations indicated that mentioning stigma, even with the aim of dispelling it, generally reduced take-up of these programs.

Impact of Covid-19 Stimulus Packages on Small and Medium Enterprises in Chile

Ana Maria Montoya
Raimundo Undurraga
Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of Chile’s economic stimulus package on the profits and survival of SMEs.

Encouraging Interregional Contact to Foster National Identity in Spain

Researchers evaluated the long-run effects of temporary contact between individuals from different regions during military service on interregional attitudes and national identity sentiments among former Spanish male conscripts. Overall, conscription outside of one’s region of origin led to positive...