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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 Tech-Training and Job Referrals for Youth in Kenya

Kiara Wahnschafft
Access to quality jobs is a pressing concern in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, researchers partnered with the technology company Sama and Innovations for Poverty Action to conduct a randomized evaluation of Sama’s training and job referral programs.

The Impact of a Graduation Program on Livelihoods in Refugee and Host Communities in Uganda

Lasse Brune
Nathanael Goldberg
Doug Parkerson
In Uganda, researchers working with USAID are conducting a randomized evaluation to better understand the effectiveness of several variants of a graduation program focused on improving nutrition and self-reliance among populations in and around a refugee settlement.

Anonymity or Distance? Removing Obstacles to Youth Employment in Urban Ethiopia

Researchers evaluated and compared the impact of two different job search assistance policies on employment outcomes for young job seekers in Addis Ababa. Helping youth signal their skills to employers improved their earnings and job duration four years later, especially for youth who would usually...

Diffusing New Seeds through Social Networks in Indian Village Economies

The researcher conducted a randomization in rural Odisha in India, by comparing adoption of a new seed variety through farmer-to-farmer networks in one half as benchmarked by door-to-door sales of the same seed. Trading between farmers leads to substantial under-adoption of agricultural technology...

Increasing Tax Compliance and Improving Civic Engagement in Haiti

Researchers are partnering with the mayor of Carrefour, Haiti to evaluate the impact of increased provision of public goods, tax collection efforts, and public exposure of tax compliance on measures of citizen engagement like taxes, voting, and community participation.

The Impact of Access to Credit and Business Training on Entrepreneurs’ Business Outcomes and Resilience to COVID-19

Lise Masselus
Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of access to credit and business training on entrepreneurs’ business outcomes and households’ resilience to cope with the consequences of COVID-19. Research is ongoing; results are forthcoming.

Financial Diaries and Education to Improve Women's Financial Literacy in Rural Bangladesh

Zabid Iqbal
Vy Nguyen
Russell Smyth
In rural Bangladesh, researchers evaluated the impacts of teaching women to track spending in financial diaries and providing a traditional financial education program on their financial literacy and well-being. Study participants had higher financial literacy levels after receiving either...