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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.

Incentivizing Households to Save Energy in Hanoi, Vietnam

Jorge Lemus
Guillermo Marshall
Chi Ta
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation during the summer months of 2023 to test the impact of using contracts or contests to encourage energy savings and assess their cost-effectiveness. Researchers found that contests and contracts achieved similar levels of energy savings. However, contests...

Incentives to Learn: A Merit-Based Girls' Scholarship Program in Kenya

Approximately 85 percent of primary school age children in western Kenya are enrolled in school, but only about one-third of students finish primary school. This project was introduced in part to assist families of high-achieving girls to cover the cost of school fees, supplies, and activities.

The Impact of Outreach and Assistance from Navigators on Medicaid Renewals in the United States

Allison Espeseth
Rebecca Myerson
Researchers assessed the impact of outreach on Medicaid retention; outreach messages provided a reminder to renew as well as information about how to obtain free one-on-one assistance with renewal processes from health insurance navigators. Outreach using pre-recorded calls prevented denials due to...

Community Driven Development in Sierra Leone

Researchers studied the impact of a community driven development program in Sierra Leone in the short and long-run and contrasted it with a technocratic approach to delegate the management of development projects to high skill individuals. In the short term, the CDD program increased the stock of...

Health Education for Microcredit Clients in Peru

Lia C.H. Fernald
Rita Hamad
Researchers assessed whether the provision of health training alongside microfinance services impacted the health or financial behavior of Peruvian microcredit clients. They found that additional health training affected neither.

Futures Prices and Risk Hedging in Gujarat, India

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of a crop price awareness program on reducing price uncertainty and promoting forward-looking planting decisions among farmers in India.

The Impact of Peer Messaging to Combat the Spread of Covid-19 in Zambia

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Zambia to test the impact of a peer-based information campaign, consisting of SMS messages and small cash incentives, on people’s adherence to Covid-19 health protocols. Participants forwarded public health SMSs when they were encouraged to do so, yet...

Consulting and Capital Experiments with Microenterprise Tailors in Ghana

Researchers partnered with the consulting firm Ernst & Young to test whether providing tailors in Accra with individualized consulting, a sizable cash grant, or both can facilitate growth. Initially, tailors experimented with investments and management practices, but most learned overtime that these...