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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 Effect of Informative Letters on the Prescription and Receipt of Seroquel in the United States

Shantanu Agrawal
Michael Barnett
Frank Tetkoski
David Yokum
This study evaluated the impact of strongly-worded peer comparison review letters sent to high prescribers of quetiapine by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on prescribing behavior and patient-level outcomes. Researchers found that the letters caused substantial and long-lasting...

Using Mobile Phones to Connect Politicians and Voters in Pakistan

Miriam Golden
Saad Gulzar
Luke Sonnet
In Pakistan, researchers are evaluating the impact of using mobile phones to directly connect politicians with voters and give voters the opportunity to provide real-time feedback to their elected representatives.

Evaluating the Impact of a Tech-Based Early Childhood Vocabulary Program in the United States

Rohen Shah
Researchers evaluated the impact of a vocabulary improvement “edutainment” program for young children, Big Word Club, on children’s receptive vocabulary. Researchers found that the Big Word Club increased students’ knowledge and retention of words included in the program without detracting from...

Do Students Benefit from Blended Instruction?

In partnership with Avanti Fellows, this study evaluates the impact of the Sankalp program, which provides teachers with resources and training to blend their instruction with video-based learning materials, on student’s math and science test scores.

Evaluating an Exporting Scheme in Tunisia

Giacomo De Giorgi
Aminur Rahman
To promote export diversification, the Tunisian government is implementing a $22 million export matching-grant scheme, TASDIR+. TASDIR+ aims to increase exports and promote export diversification toward higher value-added exports and new markets. This study is using a randomized controlled trial to...

Encouraging Technology Adoption in Agriculture through Recommendations and In-Kind Transfers to Smallholder Farmers in Mexico

Carolina Corral
Xavier Giné
In Mexico, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the effect of providing plot-specific or general soil quality analyses and input recommendations, agricultural extension services, and flexible or inflexible in-kind grants on smallholder farmers’ adoption and knowledge of improved...