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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.

Smart Meters: Do Prices Matter to Their Adoption and Do They Save Energy?

Michael Price
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of financial incentives on the take-up of energy-efficient smart meters and subsequent energy use in partnership with British Gas. While offering incentives increased smart meter adoption, customers did not reduce their energy...

The Impact of Alternative Fundraising Schemes on Charitable Giving in Germany

Steffen Huck
Andrew Shephard
Researchers partnered with the Munich Opera House to conduct a randomized evaluation measuring the impact of a large-scale mail fundraising scheme on the frequency and amount of donations. While neither the presence of a lead donor nor differences in matching schemes affected the response rate to...

Tutoring and Career Counseling for High School Students in France (Talens)

Son Thierry Ly
Arnaud Riegert
If disadvantaged students lack information about their educational opportunities after high-school and the academic preparation they need to succeed in top universities, they may be less likely to apply to and attend these universities. Researchers tested the impact of a program that connected...

Assessing the Effectiveness of Alternative Text Messages to Improve Collection of Delinquent Fines in the United Kingdom

Rory Gallagher
Laura Haynes
Peter John
David Torgerson
The collection of delinquent fines is a massive public administrative challenge. In the United Kingdom for instance, unpaid court fines amounted to more than £600 million in 2011. Managing noncompliant accounts and dispatching bailiffs to collect fines in person is costly. Researchers used a...

Applying Behavioral Insights to Improve Tax Enforcement in Poland

Nina Mazar
Roberto Claudio Sormani
In partnership with the Polish Tax Office, researchers conducted a nation-wide randomized evaluation to test the impact of sending tax enforcement letters with behavioral messages on tax compliance among delinquent taxpayers. The results indicate that behavioral letters significantly improved tax...

Awareness Campaigns for Parents of Middle School Students in France

Francesco Avvisati
Nina Guyon
Researchers in France evaluated the impact of a series of informational meetings with education officials on parents’ involvement and their children’s behavior and performance at school. They found that parents became substantially more involved, and all children (even those whose parents were not...