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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.

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

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...

Understanding Borrowers' Decisions: Payday Loans in the United States

Researchers partnered with a large payday lender in Indiana to conduct an evaluation to better understand consumers’ decision-making. The results suggest that average borrowers can anticipate their probability of taking loans in the future. However, people focus too much on the present when making...

The impact of payments for ecosystem services on crop burning in India

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a PES program that offers financial rewards to paddy farmers for reducing burning of crop residue (or “stubble”) on stubble burning in Punjab, India.

Connecting Egyptian Women to Gender-Based Violence Resources via Social Media during Covid-19

Elizabeth Parker-Magyar
Researchers partnered with the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights to evaluate the effect of educational social media and TV campaigns on women’s attitudes and behaviors around responding to GBV and IPV. The social media campaign increased women’s knowledge and use of resources, but had no impact on...

The Demand for and Impact of Learning HIV Status in Malawi

Nicole Angotti
Agatha Bula
Lauren Gaydosh
Eitan Zeev Kimchi
Sara Yeatman
Researchers evaluated the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project (MDICP), which sought to explore the demand for, and the impact of, learning one’s HIV status. While even very small incentives encouraged people to return for their HIV test results, rapid testing in the home had the greatest...

Microcredit in Rural Morocco

Researchers estimated the impact of a microcredit program, which was randomly rolled out in rural areas of Morocco. Thirteen percent of the households in treatment villages took a loan, and none in comparison villages did. Among households identified as more likely to borrow, microcredit access led...

Combining Microcredit with Health Education in Benin

Bobbi Gray
Bram Thuysbaert
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of a bundled microcredit and health education program, delivered both to mixed-gender and female-only loan groups in Benin, to evaluate its impacts on health knowledge, health behaviors, and social outcomes. The integrated package of group microcredit...