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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.

The Impact of an Online Entrepreneurial Mindset Training for Youth in Ecuador

Guido Buenstorf
Diego d'Andria
Francisco Flores
David McKenzie
Mathis Schulte
Thomas Åstebro
Recent studies have shown that a psychology-based entrepreneurial mindset training can have promising effects on business outcomes. In Ecuador, researchers are evaluating whether these skills can be taught at scale and online by testing the effects of an entrepreneurial mindset training program on...

The Impact of Agro-dealer Training on Input Adoption and Productivity Among Smallholder Farmers in Niger

In Niger, researchers evaluated the impact of a training program for input distributors (agro-dealers) on smallholder access to and use of agricultural inputs. Researchers found that trainings for agro-dealers combined with a demonstration plot increased the share of farmers adopting improved seeds...

Reducing Job Search Costs with an SMS-based Messaging App in Rural Tanzania

Dahyeon Jeong
The researcher conducted a randomized evaluation in rural Tanzania to determine the impact of an SMS-based messaging app that connects agricultural workers and employers on wages. He found that the SMS-based messaging app reduced wage spread within villages–meaning employers paid a wage closer to...

The Impact of Personalized SMS Messages to Parents on Student Achievement in Kenya

Joost de Laat
Researchers are partnering with Bridge International Academies to evaluate the impact of an SMS-based information provision program on students’ learning outcomes in Kenya.

Managerial Practices for Improved Productivity of Skilled Workers in the UK

Greer Gosnell
Researchers worked with an airline to test the impact of different types of information and incentives on pilots’ productivity, as measured by pilots’ implementation of fuel-saving practices. Provision of personalized targets for achieving these fuel-saving practices led pilots to implement them...

Providing Financial Incentives and Behavioral Nudges to Encourage Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake in the United States

Tom Chang
Rajiv Pramanik
Samir Shah
Researchers evaluated the impact of financial incentives, public health video messages, and access to a vaccine scheduling link on Covid-19 vaccination intentions and vaccine take-up in the United States. None of the interventions led to increases in vaccine take-up after thirty days. In a...

Information and Social Interaction in Savings Decisions in the United States

This evaluation studied the influence of information and social networks on university employees' decisions to enroll in a voluntary Tax Deferred Account (TDA) retirement plan in the United States. The results indicated that an individual’s decision to participate in the TDA is affected by small...

Cooking Stoves, Indoor Air Pollution, and Respiratory Health in India

While researchers found a meaningful reduction in smoke inhalation in the first year after households received an improved stove, there was no effect over longer time horizons. The difference between the laboratory and field results is due to households’ revealed low valuation of the stoves...