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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.

Providing Job Search Information to Improve Job Seekers' Employment and Earnings in Germany

Steffen Altmann
Florian Zimmermann
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing recently unemployed individuals informational brochures about job search strategies that motivated an active search on their labor market outcomes. Providing informational brochures improved the employment and earnings of...

Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs on Voting in Honduras

In this randomized evaluation in Honduras, researchers assessed how the national Programa de Asignación Familiar (Family Allowance Program) CCT program, which provided a combination of transfers to households and transfers to support public goods, influenced voting in local and national elections...

The Impact of Loans on the Survival and Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Colombia

In Colombia, researchers are evaluating the economic impact of providing stimulus loans to SMEs, distributed via the government’s COVID-19 relief program (“Unidos por Colombia”), on SME survival, profits, and employment.

Evaluating the Impact of Online Education in Russia

Igor Chirikov
René Kizilcec
Natalia Maloshonok
Tatiana Semenova
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact and cost-effectiveness of fully online and blended STEM classes in Russia on student test scores. Students in online and blended courses achieved similar scores to students in traditional in-person courses at a lower cost.

The Effect of Matching on Worker Skills versus Preferences on Firm-Worker Matches in South Africa

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to improve the quality of job matches in South Africa. They matched applicants to entry-level vacancies using different types of information: workers’ preferences for job types; communication and socio-emotional skills; or grades and work experience.

Business Education for Microcredit Clients in Peru

Researchers worked in Peru to measure the marginal impact of adding business training to a group lending program. The results of this study found business training slightly improved business practices, but had no impact on key business outcomes such as revenue and profit.

Deposit Collectors in the Philippines

Researchers evaluated the impact of a door-to-door deposit-collecting service, which regularly collected funds from clients’ homes to be deposited at a local bank, on clients’ savings. Results demonstrated that clients who lived farther from a bank were more likely to take up the service, and...