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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.

Characterizing Firm-Level Discrimination

Researchers studied hiring discrimination among major employers in the United States by sending fictional resumes, with varying demographic information, to determine whether certain characteristics would lead to different follow-up contact rates. Employers were less likely to contact resumes with...

Increasing Financial Aspirations to Improve Financial Decision-Making and Outcomes in the Philippines

David McKenzie
Aakash Mohpal
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test whether encouraging entrepreneurs to raise their aspirations helped them improve their financial decisions and outcomes. The aspirations training led individuals to set higher savings goals, but most participants failed to achieve their goals.

Smart Meters: Do Prices Matter to Their Adoption and Do They Save Energy?

Michael Price
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of financial incentives on the take-up of energy-efficient smart meters and subsequent energy use in partnership with British Gas. While offering incentives increased smart meter adoption, customers did not reduce their energy...

The Impact of Learning to Teach by Learning to Learn on Student Outcomes in Uganda

Researchers, in partnership with Kimanya Ngeyo Foundation for Science and Education in Uganda, evaluated the impact of a program that trained teachers to learn like scientists: posing questions, framing hypotheses, and using real-world experience wherever possible. They explored how this approach to...

Balwadi Deworming in India

Charu Puri Sharma
This study evaluated the impact of a preschool nutrition and health project that targeted anemia in the slums of Delhi, India on child health and school attendance. Results showed the program positively impacted weight-gain and school attendance, particularly for groups with high base-line rates of...

The Impact of a Multi-faceted Livelihoods Program on Low-income Households in India

In India, researchers partnered with Bandhan Konnagar to evaluate the impact of a multi-faceted livelihoods program known as the Graduation approach, which aims to encourage occupational change among people living in extreme poverty. The Graduation approach had large and positive effects on economic...

Career Mentoring for Secondary Students in France (Actenses)

Researchers examined the impact of a mentoring program on high school students' academic achievement, job market knowledge, and career-related goals. The program changed students' academic ambitions, but had no impact on their professional plans, knowledge about the professional world, or motivation...