Blog

News

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 Effect of Village-Based Schools in Afghanistan

Dana Burde
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Afghanistan to measure the impact of school proximity on the educational outcomes of young students in local villages. Results indicated that the geographic proximity of schools had a dramatic effect on children’s academic participation and...

Effects of Replicating Charter Schools in Boston, Massachusetts

Researchers studied a policy reform in Boston, Massachusetts, that allowed effective charter schools to replicate their school models at new locations. Results showed that charter schools reproduced their effectiveness at new campuses by following similar sets of standardized protocols...

The Impacts of Mental Health Treatment on Productivity in India

Researchers evaluated the impact of providing depression treatment and economic assistance on mental health and economic behavior in peri-urban communities near Bangalore, India. Treatment reduced depression severity, a benefit that persisted when paired with light-touch livelihoods assistance, but...

Community Based Rangeland Management in Namibia

David Coppock
Luke Crowley
Susan Durham
Dylan Groves
Brien Norton
R. Douglas Ramsey
In Namibia, researchers measured the impact of a community-based natural resource management program on livestock assets, income, social cohesion, and land quality. Community-based rangeland management improved rangeland grazing management, community governance of the rangelands, and farmer...

Demand for Rainwater Harvesting Devices in Uganda

In Uganda, researchers studied the demand for rainwater storage devices, the effectiveness of various marketing strategies in promoting them, and their impact on indicators such as school attendance and women’s participation in the labor market.

Information and Referrals at the End of Middle School, France

Dominique Goux
Researchers evaluated the effects of a program designed to improve parental knowledge about students’ opportunities at the end of middle school on schooling decisions and dropout behavior. The program helped parents and their children make more realistic educational choices, reducing grade...

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...