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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.

Incentives for Milk Cleanliness and Production Quality in Indian Cooperatives

Ashish Shenoy
Much economic activity in low-income countries takes place through cooperative or collective organizations. Researchers in the Indian state of Karnataka conducted a randomized evaluation to study whether collective incentive payments to village cooperatives of dairy farmers could increase milk...

Testing the impact of antimalarial discounts on overtreatment in Mali

Carolina Lopez
Researchers varied patients’ information about a discount on treatment for simple malaria and measuring take-up of treatment to identify the factors driving overtreatment. While patient pressure on doctors in response to the discount led to excess prescription of antimalarials, there was no evidence...

Using Information Campaigns to Improve Covid-19 Health Awareness Among Rural Households in Bangladesh and India

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of phone-based information campaigns on people’s knowledge about Covid-19 compliance with health guidelines in rural areas of Bangladesh and India. They found that disseminating information through both text messages and phone calls...

The Illusion of Sustainability: Comparing Free Provision of Deworming Drugs and Other "Sustainable" Approaches in Kenya

This study in Kenya found that cost-sharing and health education were not effective alternatives to a total subsidy of deworming drugs.

Parent Empowerment Through Primary School Community Grants in Niger

Elizabeth Beasley
Elise Huillery
Researchers examined the short-term responses of a grant to school committees and find that overall, parents increased participation and responsibility, but these efforts did not improve overall school quality. Enrollment at the lowest grades increased and school resources improved, but teacher...

School Choice in Andhra Pradesh, India

Venkatesh Sundararaman
In India, researchers measured the impact of providing vouchers to attend private schools on student learning. Students who won vouchers had test scores that were 0.13 standard deviations higher across all subjects.

Enabling Young Readers: A Primary School Reading Program in the Philippines

Researchers evaluated a 31-day read-a-thon where students were encouraged to read as many books as possible through daily reading activities in school, such as storytelling sessions, reading games, and posters that display each class’s progress. Overall, the results suggest that encouraging an...

The Impact of Disclosing Soft Skills Certificates at Recruitment on Labor Market Outcomes in Uganda

Aisha Nansamba
In Uganda, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing a soft skills certificate to both employers and job seekers during job interviews on matching in the labor market. The certificates caused workers to increase their expectations of finding the right job, while...