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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.

Household Matters: Revisiting the Returns to Capital among Female Micro-entrepreneurs

Researchers re-examined data from previous studies in Ghana, India, and Sri Lanka to better understand the impact of credit and cash grant variations on micro-enterprise profits. Their results suggest that the gender gap in micro-enterprise performance was not due to ability, but rather to women’s...

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...

Divided Payment Schedules to Reduce Regretful Spending in Uganda

In Uganda, where most employees receive their wages in a single monthly payment, researchers are working to evaluate if an alternative, divided payment schedule reduces regretful spending.

Reducing Inequality through a Summer Youth Employment Program in Boston

Researchers used survey data to evaluate short-term outcomes for Boston’s SYEP participants in 2015. They found that the program significantly improved participants’ community engagement and social skills, many job readiness skills, and some academic aspirations.

Increasing Tuberculosis Detection through Incentivized Peer Referrals in India

Chintagunta
Mario Macis
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of peer referrals by current patients on the screening and identification of tuberculosis cases in India. Peer referrals and outreach by current patients to identified peers were more effective than health-worker led contact-tracing...

The Impact of Offering Pay-as-you-go Car Insurance on Covering Drivers in California

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of introducing a pay-as-you-go car insurance contract, which reduces minimum purchase requirements, to uninsured drivers in California. Applicants who were offered this type of insurance were nearly twice as likely to purchase car...