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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 Informational Meetings on Secondary School Choice in Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of short informational meetings with students and parents on secondary school choice. They found that these meetings increased students’ and parents’ knowledge of the application process and led students to pick lower-cost and more...

Conditional Cash Transfers and HIV/AIDS Prevention in Malawi

Hans-Peter Kohler
Researchers evaluated whether offering individuals financial incentives to maintain their HIV-negative status could be an effective HIV prevention strategy in rural Malawi. The conditional cash transfer had no effect on HIV status or on self-reported sexual behavior. The receipt of the cash...

The Impact of Enhanced Business Training for High-Potential Entrepreneurs in Colombia

Small and medium enterprises are thought to be an important source of innovation and employment in developing countries, but entrepreneurs face a number of barriers to expanding their businesses. In Colombia, researchers are examining the impact of a combination of training, mentorship, and...

The Effects of Kindergarten Classroom on Earnings in the United States

John Friedman
Nathaniel Hilger
Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
Danny Yagan
Researchers measured the effect of class size, teacher quality, and classroom quality on earnings and other future outcomes for children participating in the Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) project in Tennessee. The study found that smaller class sizes raised college attendance, more...

Reducing Imbalanced Fertilizer Use Through Rule-Of-Thumb Instructions in Bangladesh

Mahnaz Islam
Fertilizer use has been promoted to boost agricultural productivity and increase farmers’ yields and income. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation among rice farmers in Bangladesh to evaluate the impact of providing leaf color charts and basic training on the quantity and timing of...

Changing Financial Incentives for Medicare Providers to Encourage Home Dialysis in the United States

Liran Einav
Yunan Ji
Researchers analyzed the impact of a new reimbursement model to incentivize end-stage kidney disease providers and facilities to provide home dialysis on home dialysis rates. During the first year of the study, there was no statistically significant difference in home dialysis rates between hospital...

The Effect of Information on Employee Evaluation in the United States

Researchers evaluated the effect of distributing “value-added” teacher evaluations to principals in New York City. Their findings suggest that principals found the reports useful and used them to inform their overall perceptions of teacher effectiveness.