News

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation during the summer months of 2023 to test the impact of using contracts or contests to encourage energy savings and assess their cost-effectiveness. Researchers found that contests and contracts achieved similar levels of energy savings. However, contests...

In this study, researchers evaluated scalable methods to improve student retention and performance in an online course, with the goal of improving meaningful access to this resource.

Researchers evaluated a program delivering digital aid payments on food security and mental well-being for vulnerable female-headed households in Afghanistan. Digital payments led to improved food security and mental well-being for beneficiaries. Digital delivery of aid was also cost-effective and...

Researchers evaluated an accountability workshop program, which educated citizens on the distribution of extractive industry tax revenues and the formal means of local political participation. The program had mixed results on local government quality, increasing the likelihood of initiating recall...

In partnership with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI), researchers are providing report cards that document citizen satisfaction with a range of public services to various levels of government officials to measure the impact of information and accountability on public service...

Can television shows change how people think and act? In Nigeria, researchers evaluated the impact of MTV Shuga, a drama featuring educational storylines about HIV/AIDS on viewers’ sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. The study shows that exposure to MTV Shuga improved viewers’ knowledge and...

Billions of dollars in government funds go missing each year due to corruption, but there is limited consensus on how best to tackle this global challenge. Researchers leveraged data from Brazil’s long-standing anticorruption program, which holds public lotteries to randomly select municipalities...