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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 Caloric Intake to Improve Hours Worked, Earnings, and Physical and Cognitive Abilities in India

Low-income populations throughout the world often consume very few calories. At the time of this intervention in 2013, over 800 million people globally consumed fewer calories than were recommended to maintain a healthy weight. However, the impact of low caloric intake on economic productivity is...

Testing the impact of antimalarial discounts on overtreatment in Mali

Carolina Lopez
Researchers varied patients’ information about a discount on treatment for simple malaria and measuring take-up of treatment to identify the factors driving overtreatment. While patient pressure on doctors in response to the discount led to excess prescription of antimalarials, there was no evidence...

The Impact of Poverty Reduction Among New Mothers on Child Brain Development in the United States

Molly A. Costanzo
Nathan Fox
Sarah Halpern-Meekin
Katherine Magnuson
Kimberly Noble
Sonya V. Troller-Renfree
Hirokazu Yoshikawa
Researchers evaluated the impact of poverty reduction via an unconditional cash transfer to mothers on child neurodevelopment. Children in families that received a $333 monthly transfer displayed different brain activity patterns than children whose mothers received only $20 a month.

Matching Small Firms with Apprentice Workers in Ghana

Researchers evaluated the effects of a national apprenticeship training program on the firms that received apprentices. Firms that received apprentices increased their profits as well as employment.

Encouraging Teacher Attendance through Monitoring with Cameras in Rural Udaipur, India

This study estimated the effect of financial incentives on teacher attendance on students' attendance and math and language levels. The incentives increased teacher attendance and teaching time, and student test scores rose as a result.

Credit with Health Insurance: Evidence from the Philippines

Researchers are examining the impact of offering health insurance through a microfinance institution on clients’ health behaviors and health outcomes, as well as on the institution’s profit, client retention, and default rates.

Cash Transfers for Education in Morocco

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of a cash transfer program in Morocco to estimate the impact on attendance and enrollment of a “labeled cash transfer” (LCT): a small cash transfer made to parents of school-aged children in poor rural communities, not conditional on school attendance...

Extra Contract Teachers in Andhra Pradesh, India

Venkatesh Sundararaman
Researchers evaluated the impact of hiring extra contract teachers in primary schools in India on student learning. Results show that students in schools with an extra contract teacher performed significantly better than those in comparison schools in both math and language areas. Evidence also...