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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 Role of Emotions on Individuals Decisions to Join Armed Groups in Eastern Congo

By leveraging a unique, long-lasting relationship with an armed organization in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the researcher aims to better understand who joins armed organizations and why, as well as the effect of the participation motives on performance inside the group.

Effects of Replicating Charter Schools in Boston, Massachusetts

Researchers studied a policy reform in Boston, Massachusetts, that allowed effective charter schools to replicate their school models at new locations. Results showed that charter schools reproduced their effectiveness at new campuses by following similar sets of standardized protocols...

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 Impacts of Mental Health Treatment on Productivity in India

Researchers evaluated the impact of providing depression treatment and economic assistance on mental health and economic behavior in peri-urban communities near Bangalore, India. Treatment reduced depression severity, a benefit that persisted when paired with light-touch livelihoods assistance, but...

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...

The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Health Outcomes in the United States

David E. Broockman
Patrick Krause
Elizabeth Rhodes
Researchers evaluated the impact of a US$1,000 monthly unconditional cash transfer to individuals with low incomes for three years on health outcomes including nutrition, sleep, health care access and use, and physical and mental health. Those who received the large cash transfer spent more on...