Blog

News

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.

Investigating the Impact of Credit with Performance-Contingent Repayment in Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test whether a performance-based repayment contract could outperform conventional microcredit contracts, or fixed-payment loans, in improving business outcomes and welfare for micro-distributors in Kenya. Micro-distributors who received flexible...

Providing Female Garment Workers with Soft Skills Training for Professional Advancement in Bangladesh

Hannah Uckat
By comparing the impacts of soft skills training, a combination of soft and hard skills training, and no training, researchers seek to determine whether soft skills training alone is an effective and efficient way to increase the numbers of promotions offered to women and prepare women to be strong...

Increasing Financial Inclusion among Religious Individuals in Jordan

Nour Shammout
Researchers partnered with Tamweelcom, a microcredit institution in Jordan, to estimate the demand for loans that comply with Islamic law (sharia-compliant loans). Sharia-compliant loans increased the demand for microcredit, and religious individuals were willing to pay more for this product.

Teacher Rotation and Student Outcomes: Experimental Evidence from Uganda

In partnership with a rural district in Eastern Uganda, researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to study whether rewarding top-performing teachers with a future posting of their choice incentivizes teachers to improve their attendance and the quality of their teaching.

Improving Productivity Through Soft Skills Training for Female Workers in the Ready-made Garment Industry in India

Researchers found that, for female sewing workers in the largest private garment exporter in India, participating in a training program improved their soft skills and productivity and the firm experienced high financial returns.

Helping Students Change their Mindsets in Norway

Sten Ludvigsen
Mari Rege
Ingeborg Foldøy Solli
David Yeager
Researchers evaluated the impact of a low-cost computer-based intervention providing information about the brain’s potential to change and grow on students’ beliefs in their abilities to learn and their subsequent effort in school. Results showed that providing this information improved students’...

Costs of Failure to Appear for Arraignment

Natalia Emanuel
Helen Ho
Researchers will conduct a randomized evaluation to test the impact of different types of notifications on rates of failure to appear in traffic and criminal misdemeanor courts.

Improving the Targeting of Preventive Health Subsidies through Vouchers in Western Kenya

Vivian Hoffman
Alix Peterson Zwane
In Western Kenya, researchers compared three different approaches to subsidizing dilute chlorine solution to treat drinking water: a partial subsidy, a twelve month supply of free chlorine through monthly vouchers, and a twelve month supply of free chlorine hand-delivered. Safe water rates were much...