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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 Effects of Performance Pay among Private School Teachers in Pakistan

Researchers worked with a large private school network in Pakistan to evaluate the effects of performance raises on outcomes such as teacher behavior, student learning, and student socioemotional development. They found that, compared to flat payments, performance pay attracted more high-quality...

Local Mentorship and Business Training to Increase Profits among Microenterprises in Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of two different types of business training—formal business classes and mentorship from a successful entrepreneur in the same industry—on female entrepreneurs’ profits and use of new business practices in Kenya. They found that...

Advertising Higher Earnings during Recruitment Processes for Community Service Providers in Uganda

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of expected earnings on candidates’ perception of a community health worker position in Uganda, and on the resulting size and composition of the applicant pool. Fewer socially motivated participants applied when advertised wages were...

Online Job Portals and Firm Hiring in India

Firms in low- and middle-income countries tend to hire mainly from referral networks, which may limit hiring. Online job portals can expand recruitment networks, but firms may be hesitant to hire unfamiliar candidates outside of their network. Researchers partnered with an online job portal in India...

The Value of Communication for Mental Health in Ghana

Re searchers used a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of providing mobile calling credits to low-income adults on well-being outcomes in Ghana. Overall, the mobile credit intervention increased the ability for individuals to meet unexpected communication needs, particularly when delivered...

Improving Labor Courts through Competition in Mexico

Researchers are partnering with the Mexico City Labor Court to evaluate whether rotating court notifiers across areas and casefiles can reduce incidences of bribery, increase the notification rates, and improve the functioning of labor courts.

Addressing Menstrual Stigma and Hygiene to Improve Education and Psychosocial Well-Being among Adolescent Girls in Madagascar

Julieta Vera
Researchers evaluated the impact of a program addressing constraints related to hygiene infrastructure and access to sanitary products while addressing social stigma around menstruation, on girls’ learning and psychosocial well-being in Madagascar. The program led to improvements in academic...

Testing the impact of antimalarial discounts on overtreatment in Mali

Carolina Lopez
Researchers varied patients’ information about a discount on treatment for simple malaria and measuring take-up of treatment to identify the factors driving overtreatment. While patient pressure on doctors in response to the discount led to excess prescription of antimalarials, there was no evidence...