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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.

Price Incentives to Improve Coffee Quality in Uganda

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test whether providing traders “bonuses” for high-quality coffee affects the prices traders offer farmers for their coffee and whether this, in turn, affects farmers’ incentives to invest in the quality of their production.

The Impact of Sustained Cognitive Effort on Student Performance in India

Researchers evaluated the impact of practicing sustained cognitive activity on cognitive endurance and school performance in Lucknow, India. Students that spent additional time engaging in sustained cognitive effort received higher grades in all of their classes, improved their performance on tests...

Messaging Strategies to Promote Safe Water and Hygiene in Bangladesh

Kaniz Jannat
David Levine
Thomas Polley
Leanne Unicomb
Researchers tested whether sharing messages that appealed to negative emotions, like shame or disgust, increased households’ hand washing behavior and willingness to pay for water chlorination in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Negative messaging had no impact on chlorination levels or willingness to pay, but...

Video-Mediated Agricultural Extension to Increase Technology Adoption Among Farmers in Ethiopia

Gashaw Abate
Simrin Makhija
David J. Spielman
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a video-mediated extension approach on the uptake of technologies recommended by the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture. The video-mediated instruction increased uptake through improved access to extension and farmer knowledge but...

The Impact of a Quiz-Style Information Campaign on Covid-19 Prevention in the United States

Researchers are measuring the impact of a quiz-style information campaign on people’s learning and adherence to Covid-19 health protocols. This study is part of a three-country research in the United States, Ghana, and Zambia program aiming to generate evidence on the best strategies to effectively...

The Impact of Exposure to Discordant Media on Political Polarization in Turkey

Ahmet Akbiyik
Jeremy Bowles
Researchers evaluated the impact of exposure to and incentives to consume discordant media on political attitudes and behaviors in Turkey. Participants changed their media consumption habits, trusted discordant media sources more, and had less polarized attitudes towards the government, but did not...

The Impact of Group-based Therapy and Cash Transfers on Adolescent Girls' Mental Health and Economic Outcomes in Uganda

Chiara Dell'Aira
Berk Ozler
Luca Parisotto
Danish Us-Salam
Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impacts of group-based therapy with and without a one-time lump sum cash transfers on the mental health and employment outcomes of adolescent girls in Uganda.