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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.

Increasing Mobile Banking Use Among Rural Populations in Ghana

Researchers assessed the impact of financial incentives and peer endorsement on mobile banking adoption and formal savings in Ghana. While financial incentives boosted adoption by 50 percent, peer endorsement was twice as effective, leading to sustained mobile banking use and a 30 percent increase...

The Impact of a School-Based Management Program on Student Performance in Mexico

Vicente Garcia-Moreno
Harry Anthony Patrinos
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to determine the effect of a school-based management program, Programa Escuelas de Calidad, on student performance in Mexico. The program combined a cash grant with state support to design and carry out school improvement plans. The intervention did not...

Improving Guidelines for an Early Childhood Development Program in Rural Colombia

Researchers partnered with the Colombian Family Welfare Agency to evaluate how providing enhanced curriculum guidelines and larger nutritional supplements for the Family, Women, and Infancy Program impacted child development. Compared to children receiving the traditional FAMI program, the enhanced...

Building Preschools to Improve Child Development and Mothers' Agency in Morocco

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to measure a major preschool construction program underway in Morocco.

The Impact of Reducing Tax Rates and Strengthening Enforcement on Revenue Collection in the DRC

In partnership with the Provincial Government of Kasaï-Central in the Democratic Republic of Congo, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation during the 2018 property tax collection campaign to test the impact of lower property tax rates and stronger tax enforcement on revenue collection...

The Impact of Mobile-Linked Savings Accounts in Sri Lanka

Researchers evaluated the impact of bank accounts that allowed mobile deposits on savings behavior in Sri Lanka. Few account holders used the service frequently, even when offered for free. Mobile-linked accounts increased savings deposits with the partner bank and formal banks more generally but...

The Impact of Early Childhood Psychosocial Stimulation on Child Development Outcomes in Odisha, India

Researchers evaluated the impact of an early childhood psychosocial stimulation program on child development outcomes in urban Odisha, India. They found that a home-visiting stimulation program led to greater development outcomes, particularly for boys, stunted children, and children with more...

How Boston’s Summer Employment Program Affects Youth Criminal Justice Outcomes

Researchers evaluated whether Boston’s SYEP had an effect on the criminal justice outcomes of participants and sought to gauge the potential mechanisms driving these effects. The program reduced participants’ violent and property crime-related arraignments.