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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.

Cash and In-kind Transfers to Increase Profits of Microenterprises in Ghana

Microenterprises often struggle to survive and grow after their initial start-up. A key issue for policymakers is understanding how to best encourage the survival and growth of resource-constrained firms by using policy tools like unrestricted cash grants and conditional transfers of materials or...

The Effects of Performance Pay among Private School Teachers in Pakistan

Researchers worked with a large private school network in Pakistan to evaluate the effects of performance raises on outcomes such as teacher behavior, student learning, and student socioemotional development. They found that, compared to flat payments, performance pay attracted more high-quality...

Incentivizing Households to Save Energy in Hanoi, Vietnam

Jorge Lemus
Guillermo Marshall
Chi Ta
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...

Local Mentorship and Business Training to Increase Profits among Microenterprises in Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of two different types of business training—formal business classes and mentorship from a successful entrepreneur in the same industry—on female entrepreneurs’ profits and use of new business practices in Kenya. They found that...

Digital Delivery of Humanitarian Aid to Improve Food Security of Women in Afghanistan

Michael Findley
Miguel Fajardo Steinhäuser
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...

Improving Labor Courts through Competition in Mexico

Researchers are partnering with the Mexico City Labor Court to evaluate whether rotating court notifiers across areas and casefiles can reduce incidences of bribery, increase the notification rates, and improve the functioning of labor courts.

Handwashing and Behavior Change in Bangladesh

Dayea Oh
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of an edutainment intervention at schools and the provision of handwashing resources at home on handwashing at school and at home. These findings suggest that encouraging behavior change in one setting may crowd out like behavior in...

The Impact of Messaging and Incentives on Survey Response Rates to Understand Barriers COVID-19 Testing in the United States

To better understand barriers to COVID-19 testing for underserved communities, researchers evaluated the impact of varying flyer messaging and survey incentive rates on survey responses. Researchers will use survey responses to identify the most important barriers to testing and potential community...