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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.

Peer Effects and Financial Decisionmaking in Brazil

Florian Ederer
Noam Yuchtman
Researchers tested the independent impact of two channels, social learning (when someone purchases an asset after a peer expresses a desire to purchase the same asset) and social utility (when someone feels he can gain more from an asset because his peer owns it), on financial decisions in Brazil...

The Impact of Physical Appearance on Employer Interest in Argentina

Florencia Lopez Boo
Sergio Urzua
In many countries around the world, there is growing concern that certain groups of people may face job market discrimination based on physical appearance. To test this theory, researchers randomly submitted resumes with photos of people with varying levels of attractiveness to measure the effect on...

A Universal Program to Raise the Well-being of Rural Communities in Uganda

Many programs that aim to help people in poverty are tailored to specific households. But often, entire communities can be living in poverty. Researchers partnered with the NGO Raising the Village to conduct a randomized evaluation of a universal livelihoods program in Uganda that offered a bundle...

Evaluating the Socioeconomic Impacts of Western Seed's Hybrid Maize Program in Kenya

Samuel Bird
Michael Carter
Mary Mathenge
Timothy Njagi
Emilia Tjernstrom
Researchers are using Western Seed Company's expansion into new areas to evaluate the socio-economic effects of the hybrid maize program in Western and Central Kenya.

Developing Students’ Holistic Skills Through Theater-Based Learning in India

Ritam Chaurey
Sara Constantino
Shantanu Khanna
Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay
Nishith Prakash
Raisa Sherif
In partnership with Rang Kaarwaan, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test whether theater-based instruction in secondary school could improve students’ self-efficacy, emotional regulation, empathy, time management, critical thinking, and other holistic skills in India.

Belief Systems and Poverty Alleviation in the Philippines

In the Philippines, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of an evangelical Protestant religious values and theology education program on individuals' economic and subjective wellbeing.