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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.

Free versus Paid Distribution of Health Products in Uganda

In northern Uganda, researchers found that free distribution of three health products led to lower demand for the same products when they were later offered for sale, highlighting the importance of product characteristics in determining pricing policy.

The Role of Information and Preferences in School Choices in Romania

Robert Ainsworth
Rajeev Dehejia
In this randomized evaluation in Romania, researchers compared the roles of preferences and information in households’ decision-making, with regard to high school selection. Results suggest that households provided with information on school quality tend to choose schools that have a greater...

Changing Beliefs, Changing Bribes in India

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to study the effect of changing legal penalties, along with citizens’ beliefs about these penalties, on corruption and lawbreaking in India.

Information Campaigns to Increase Mobile Banking Adoption in Ghana

In Ghana, researchers worked with a bank that provides services to low-income customers with limited access to mainstream banking to evaluate the impact of sending pre-recorded informational voice calls and text messages on the adoption of mobile banking. Clients that received messages encouraging...