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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.

Debates: The Impact of Voter Knowledge Initiatives in Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, researchers evaluated the effect of publicly-screened debates during the run-up to parliamentary elections. Debates impacted voters’ political knowledge and voting decisions, and also caused candidates to invest more in their constituencies, both during the campaign and one year...

The Impact of UNICEF's Communication for Development (C4D) Program in Ghana

In Ghana, researchers are evaluating the impact of a health communications program, which includes in-person, radio, and mobile phone interventions, on five key health behaviors.

Assessing the Impact of Microcredit in Ethiopia

Jaikishan Desai
Kristin Johnson
Researchers analyzed the introduction of microcredit programs in parts of rural Ethiopia to evaluate the effect of improved credit access on economic and social outcomes. They found that introducing microcredit programs increased the frequency of borrowing and amount borrowed by rural households in...

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...

Local Leadership and the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods in Bolivia

María P. Recalde
Researchers used a randomized evaluation to test how local leaders influence the voluntary provision of public goods. They solicited contributions for environmental education books, which all members of the community would be able to access, and varied whether leaders made public contributions. They...

The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment in the United States

Heidi Allen
Mira Bernstein
Jonathan Gruber
Joseph P. Newhouse
Eric Schneider
Jae Song
Bill Wright
Alan Zaslavsky
In a series of evaluations, researchers took advantage of a lottery that gave low-income uninsured adults the chance to apply for Medicaid in the United States to examine the impact of health insurance on these outcomes over the first two years.