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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.

Attracting Talented Workers by Reducing Application Costs in Ethiopia

Girum Abebe
Esteban Ortiz-Ospina
Researchers partnered with an employer in Addis Ababa to assess the impact of a small monetary incentive to apply for a job or a higher wage offer on the quality of applicants to a vacancy for a clerical position. Both of these changes increased the quality of applicants by similar amounts.

The Impact of Meritocratic Promotions and Pay Progression on Health Care Workers' Productivity in Sierra Leone

Philipp Kastrau
Researchers tested the impact of a meritocratic promotion system and beliefs about pay progression on the productivity of Community Health Workers in Sierra Leone. A combination of meritocracy and the promise of a steep salary increase after promotion led workers to make more health care visits...

Improving Female Labor Force Participation through Flexible, Internet-mediated Gig Work in India

In India, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a flexible, digital gig work opportunities on women’s labor supply, take uptake of employment opportunities, implications for worker productivity, and women’s interest in future outside-the-home work opportunities. as well...

The Impact of Price Information on Informal Traders in Kenya and Uganda

The researcher used a randomised evaluation in Kenya and Uganda to study the impact of varying access to information about prices in buying and selling markets, and encouraged informal traders to enter new markets and take advantage of price differences.

The Impact of Learning to Teach by Learning to Learn on Student Outcomes in Uganda

Researchers, in partnership with Kimanya Ngeyo Foundation for Science and Education in Uganda, evaluated the impact of a program that trained teachers to learn like scientists: posing questions, framing hypotheses, and using real-world experience wherever possible. Researchers found positive impacts...

Encouraging Mothers to Practice Speaking with Their Babies in Ghana

Camille Falezan
Mark Walsh
In Northern Ghana, researchers tested whether providing information could encourage mothers to talk more with their infants, thereby improving child development. Six to eight months after the intervention, mothers who received the information reported they were more likely to talk to their infants...

Menstruation and Education in Nepal

Researchers introduced a convenient and hygienic sanitary product, reusable menstrual cups, to Nepalese girls in the seventh and eighth grades. Their evaluation addressed several questions: Is menstruation as large a barrier to education as many believe? Does switching to modern sanitary products...

Can Informational Campaigns Raise Awareness and Local Participation in Primary Education in India?

Rukmini Banerji
Stuti Khemani
Researchers examined whether increasing community oversight and participation could improve education outcomes in Uttar Pradesh, India. Mobilizing community members to monitor local schools through Village Education Committees did not increase participation in school governance or improve education...