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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.

The Degree of Ethnic Bias in Kenya

Lars Ivar Oppedal Berge
Simon Galle
Bertil Tungodden
Kelly Zhang
Researchers in Kenya conducted multiple lab studies at the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics to explore the degree of ethnic bias in the local population and assess how bias may affect participants’ behavior. Contrary to existing assumptions about ethnic preferences in Kenya, researchers found...

The Effect of Free Contraception on Fertility in Burkina Faso

Adriana Lleras-Muney
Pauline Rossi
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation among households in rural Burkina Faso to examine whether countries in sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing a slower shift in fertility levels due to lack of access to contraception or households wanting large families. Providing married women with access...

Pay for Perfomance Incentives for Heathcare Workers in Pakistan

James Andreoni
Karrar Jaffar
Charles Sprenger
Polio is endemic in Pakistan, and vaccination campaigns often suffer when government health workers hired to administer the vaccine underperform. Researchers introduced individualized bonus contracts to health workers to evaluate the impact of time preferences on vaccine delivery and quality of...

The Impact of Cash Transfers and Psychotherapy on Well-being in Kenya

Robert Mudida
Jeremy Shapiro
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of unconditional cash transfers, a psychotherapy program, and their combination on psychological and economic well-being in rural Kenya.

Charitable Giving by Corporations and Aristocrats in Germany

Researchers partnered with the Bavarian State Opera House to conduct a randomized evaluation to test the impact of different fundraising methods on the giving behavior of aristocrats and corporations. They found that aristocrats were more responsive than other donor types but corporations gave the...

The Impact of Information on Selective and Less-Selective Schools in Chile

Mattias Busso
Claudia Martinez
Dario Romero
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing information to students on enrollment at different quality schools. Students who were provided information applied to and enrolled in different types of schools. However, overall a greater number of students did not enroll...

Shaping Educational Careers of Immigrant Children: Motivation, Cognitive Skills and Teachers' Beliefs in Italy

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of an academic tutoring and career counseling program designed to reduce educational inequalities between native-born and immigrant children. Can tutoring and career counseling help improve the educational outcomes of high-ability...

Celebrity Twitter endorsement for an immunization public health campaign in Indonesia

Vivi Alatas
Markus Mobius
Cindy Paladines
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation on measuring the impact of celebrity Twitter endorsement for a child immunization campaign on the public’s opinion and behavior towards immunization. Celebrity endorsement increased Twitter engagement with the immunization campaign, primarily when...