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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.

Credit, Uncertainty, and Monitoring for Technology Adoption

In Senegal, researchers are testing a new contract arrangement between farmers and cooperatives that includes credit, training, and a price premium for certified low-aflatoxin groundnuts on farmers’ decisions to adopt Aflasafe, aflatoxin levels, and output sales.

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.

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers to Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers on Child Health in India

In partnership with the Government of Jharkhand, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to study the impact of unconditional, framed cash transfers to pregnant women and lactating mothers on child health.

Impact of Watchdog Journalism on Public Service Provision in Tanzania

Researchers examined the impact of local watchdog journalism investigations on public service provision. Local journalism improved government performance and service delivery, likely by helping central governments monitor bureaucrats at the district-level.

Worker Evaluations of Managers and Productivity in China

Shing-Yi Wang
Researchers randomly assigned automobile manufacturing workers to provide monthly feedback on their managers to measure the impact of feedback on worker productivity, turnover, and job satisfaction in China. Team-level productivity was higher, turnover was lower, and workers’ happiness increased...

Gender Gaps in the Diffusion of Agricultural Technology in Malawi

Ariel BenYishay
Maria Jones
Florence Kondylis
Researchers studied the impact of the gender of communicators on the effects of a program to train farmers to communicate information on agricultural technology to other farmers. While there was no gender gap in communicators’ ability to acquire, retain, and use the information about the technology...

Are Agricultural Traders Colluding? Testing the Degree of Competition Among Maize Traders in Kenya

Michael Dinerstein
Researchers conducted three randomized evaluations to measure the degree of competition among wholesale maize traders, understand the implications for social welfare, and test whether new traders could make a market more competitive. Researchers found that traders did not pass through much of a...

Hiring Additional Instructors in Childcare Centers in India Improved Learning and Nutrition

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the impact of adding an additional education-focused worker in early childhood development centers on students’ learning and health outcomes. The program increased the time spent on pre-school education, boosting...