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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.

Race and Jobs

Taxes Make Smokers Happy

The Second Attempt Made the Difference

The Second Attempt Made the Difference

Expanding Financial Access Via Credit Cards: Evidence from Mexico

Sara G. Castellanos
Diego J. Jiménez Hernández
Researchers leveraged data from a randomized evaluation conducted by a large bank in Mexico to test the impact of varying credit card contract terms on loan default, card cancellation rates, and bank revenue for first-time formal sector borrowers. Variations in the interest rate and minimum payment...

The Role of Information and Preferences in School Choices in Romania

Robert Ainsworth
Rajeev Dehejia
In this randomized evaluation in Romania, researchers compared the roles of preferences and information in households’ decision-making, with regard to high school selection. Results suggest that households provided with information on school quality tend to choose schools that have a greater...

The Effect of Financial Incentives on Elementary School Test Scores in the United States

Researchers studied whether financial incentives offered to elementary school students could increase standardized test scores. Students who were eligible to win gift certificates had higher math scores and read more.