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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.

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...

Using Information Campaigns to Improve Covid-19 Health Awareness Among Rural Households in Bangladesh and India

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of phone-based information campaigns on people’s knowledge about Covid-19 compliance with health guidelines in rural areas of Bangladesh and India. They found that disseminating information through both text messages and phone calls...

The Illusion of Sustainability: Comparing Free Provision of Deworming Drugs and Other "Sustainable" Approaches in Kenya

This study in Kenya found that cost-sharing and health education were not effective alternatives to a total subsidy of deworming drugs.

Financial Incentives and an Adolescent Empowerment Program to Reduce Child Marriage in Rural Bangladesh

Nina Buchmann
Shahana Nazneen
Xiao Yu Wang
Researchers evaluated the impacts of an incentive program and an adolescent empowerment program on child marriage, teenage childbearing, and education in rural Bangladesh. Financial incentives conditional on delayed marriage reduced child marriage and teenage childbearing, and increased education...

Examining the Effects of Crop Price Insurance for Farmers in Ghana

Researchers in Ghana introduced financial literacy training and crop price insurance to determine their impact on farmers' willingness to take out loans and make long-term investments. Results show that farmers who received the training and insurance were only slightly more likely to borrow and make...

Evaluating Village Savings and Loan Associations in Uganda

Beniamino Savonitto
Bram Thuysbaert
Researchers in Uganda assessed the impact of VSLAs on access to financial services, income, food security, and education.

Reducing Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Energy Efficient Retrofits: Evidence from Low-Income Households

Researchers evaluated the impact of a residential energy efficiency program on energy savings and carbon emissions in the United States. They found that energy savings equaled only about half of the upfront cost of the program, which were far less than projected.