Blog

News

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 Emergency Rental Assistance on Housing Stability during Covid-19 in the United States

Researchers leveraged existing randomization to evaluate the impact of ERA programs during the pandemic in four urban areas in the United States on measures of housing stability, financial security, and mental health. Receipt of rental assistance increased rent payment in the short term and modestly...

Increasing Caloric Intake to Improve Hours Worked, Earnings, and Physical and Cognitive Abilities in India

Low-income populations throughout the world often consume very few calories. At the time of this intervention in 2013, over 800 million people globally consumed fewer calories than were recommended to maintain a healthy weight. However, the impact of low caloric intake on economic productivity is...

The Impacts of Computer-Based Individualized Instruction on Math Learning in India

Andreas de Barros
Alejandro Ganimian
In partnership with an education assessment firm, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to isolate the impact of computer-based individualized instruction in India. After nine months, lower-performing students in grades six to eight learned 22 percent of a standard deviation more in math if...

Information and Adoption of Energy-Efficient Stitching Motors in Bangladesh

Yunfan Gu
Gaurav Nayyar
Siddharth Sharma
Researchers are working with small- and medium-sized enterprises in the leather goods and footwear manufacturing sector in Bangladesh to understand the role of information in the adoption of energy-efficient motors for stitching machines, as well as firms’ perception of and willingness to pay for...

The Impact of Mask Distribution and Promotion on Mask Uptake and Covid-19 in Bangladesh

Jason Abaluck
Jade Benjamin-Chung
Neeti Zaman Bintee
Emily Crawford
Muhammad Maqsud Hossain
Ellen Bates Jefferys
Alamgir Kabir
Laura H Kwong
Shadman Rahman
Shabib Raihan
Hasan Mahmud Reza
Ashley Styczynski
Peter J. Winch
Researchers partnered with Innovations for Poverty Action and Bangladeshi policymakers to test various strategies to increase mask-wearing and assess the impact of community mask wearing on SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. They found that a four-part intervention tripled mask usage and increased physical...

Incentivizing Physical Activity to Improve Mental Health During Covid-19 Disruptions in the United States

Osea Giuntella
Kelly Hyde
Silvia Saccardo
Researchers conducted a randomized intervention to measure the impact of financial incentives for reaching daily step goals on physical activity and depression risk during the Covid-19 pandemic, to better understand the association between physical activity and mental health. While program...

A Safer Monitoring Tool to Help Workers Report Harassment in Bangladesh

Researchers evaluated how different ways of asking questions in surveys affect workers’ likelihood of reporting harassment at a firm in Bangladesh. A survey technique that gave people plausible deniability led to workers reporting more abuses, allowing the firm to access more accurate data on the...

The Effect of Matching on Worker Skills versus Preferences on Firm-Worker Matches in South Africa

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to improve the quality of job matches in South Africa. They matched applicants to entry-level vacancies using different types of information: workers’ preferences for job types; communication and socio-emotional skills; or grades and work experience.