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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.

Building Resilient Health Systems: Community Monitoring and Nonfinancial Awards During the Sierra Leone 2014 Ebola Outbreak

Researchers partnered with the Government of Sierra Leone to evaluate the impact of community monitoring and nonfinancial awards programs on health care utilization and health outcomes. Both programs improved clinic utilization, patient satisfaction, and symptom reporting during the 2014 Ebola...

Disseminating Flood Warnings to Increase Disaster Preparedness in India

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing flood early warnings to rural households through smartphone alerts and community volunteers on their flood preparedness and responsiveness, as well as post-flood health and economic outcomes.

The Impact of an Online Math Learning Platform on Test Scores and Attitudes Towards Math in Brazil

Lucas Finamor
Lycia Lima
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impacts of the Khan Academy’s online platform on math scores in Brazilian public schools. Despite improving student’s attitudes towards math, the program had mixed impact on students’ test scores depending on program implementation and...

Climate Action Outreach by Democrats in an Online Network in the USA

Lucy Page
Hannah Ruebeck
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to study if Democratic climate advocates recruit others for climate advocacy and whether they reach out across party lines to increase bi-partisan support. While Democrats were motivated to mobilize others to email Congress on climate action, they were...

How Malleable are Non-Cognitive Skills? Measuring the Impact of Increasing Grit in Turkey

Teodora Boneva
Seda Ertac
Researchers worked with public elementary schools in Istanbul to measure the effects of a “grit curriculum” on fourth-grade students’ perseverance, competitiveness, and test scores. Students who were exposed to the grit curriculum in 2013 earned higher scores on math exams, and the program also...

The Impact of Emergency Rental Assistance on Housing Stability during Covid-19 in the United States

Researchers leveraged existing randomization to evaluate the impact of ERA programs during the pandemic in four urban areas in the United States on measures of housing stability, financial security, and mental health. Receipt of rental assistance increased rent payment in the short term and modestly...

The Impact of a Graduation Program on Livelihoods in Refugee and Host Communities in Uganda

Lasse Brune
Nathanael Goldberg
Doug Parkerson
In Uganda, researchers working with USAID are conducting a randomized evaluation to better understand the effectiveness of several variants of a graduation program focused on improving nutrition and self-reliance among populations in and around a refugee settlement.