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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 Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on Child Labor Allocation in Nicaragua

Ximena Del Carpio
Renos Vakis
In Nicaragua, researchers analyzed the impact of a conditional cash transfer program on the distribution of child labor within households. In households that randomly received a conditional cash transfer, older boys and boys who were behind in school spent significantly less time working each week...

Mobile Phone Data Compared to Household Surveys to Evaluate the Impact of Cash Transfers in Togo

Emily Aiken
Suzanne Bellue
In Togo, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the effect of cash grants on people's welfare and if using mobile phone data in impact evaluations yielded the same results as survey data. They found that the cash grant program increased food security, mental health, and self-perceived...

Does Campaign Spending Work in the United States?

In partnership with candidates, researcher Alan Gerber conducted five randomized evaluations in two states to measure the effect of campaign mailings on vote shares. The results suggest that incumbent spending has a negligible effect on vote share, whereas challenger spending was effective.

Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) to Reduce Risky Sexual Behaviors and Increase Schooling Investments in Malawi

Erick Gong
Berk Ozler
Researchers introduced a Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT) program to young females in Malawi to determine whether the program affects risky sexual behavior and school performance. They found no overall effect of VCT on risk of sexually transmitted infections or achievement test scores...

Research and Impacts of Digital Financial Services

A new paper describes recent evidence on what works for financial inclusion and identifies products and innovations that address key financial market failures facing poor households. Written by J-PAL affiliates Dean Karlan, Rohini Pande, Tavneet Suri, Jonathan Zinman, and co-authors, this paper also...

Relationship Banking in India

Researchers evaluated whether the intensity of personalized interaction between borrowers and loan officers in India influenced borrowers’ repayment behavior. They found that clients with personal relationship managers at the bank had better repayment behavior but were not more satisfied with their...