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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.

Improving the Allocation of Land Use Subsidies Through Self-Selection in Malawi

Elsa Maria Cardona Santos

In Malawi, researchers tested the impact of a subsidized tree planting program and tested whether allocating contracts randomly or through self-selection resulted in better program outcomes. Self-targeting outperformed random allocation of contracts in terms of tree survival and mitigated increases...

Impacts and Challenges of a Teacher Training Program in Nepal

Julie Schaffner
Uttam Sharma
Training teachers to improve teacher quality and student learning is a common strategy taken by policymakers. In Nepal, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of a government teacher training program for math and science teachers to evaluate the impact on student learning in secondary schools...

Evaluating the Effects of Entrepreneurship Edutainment in Egypt

Ghada Barsoum
Paul Dyer
Drew Gardiner
Marwa Moaz
Fostering youth entrepreneurship could help decrease youth unemployment. However, entrepreneurs face a number of barriers to launching and expanding their businesses. Researchers introduced a youth entrepreneurship reality TV show to evaluate the effects of a television show and entrepreneurial...

Offering Amenities to Increase Health Care Demand in Mexico

Researchers conducted an evaluation to test the impact of offering a high-amenity diagnostic consultation for cataracts at different prices on uptake of an underutilized service—cataract surgery—in Mexico. Lower prices for the high-amenity consultation increased exposure to amenities, which...

The Impact of a Financial Literacy Program in South Africa

Christian Salas Pauliac
Veronica Postal
Bilal Zia
Researchers investigated whether a financial literacy program improved financial knowledge and practices, and increased financial service use among low-income individuals in South Africa. Offering a training improved knowledge about budgeting, increased self-reported savings, and reduced loan...

Returns to Apprenticeship Training in Ghana

Researchers measured the impact of a government apprenticeship program for youth in Ghana on wages, employment, skills, fertility, migration, and other outcomes. The results suggest that apprenticeship programs can provide youth with skills and transition them into self-employment.