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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.

Examining the Effect of Information about Financial Aid for Higher Education on Schooling Outcomes in Chile

Claudia Martinez
Researchers tested the effects of providing low-income students in urban Chile with information about financial aid for higher education on their educational attainment and their likelihood of progressing to higher education. A video informing students about financing higher education increased...

Identifying Information Asymmetries in a Consumer Credit Market in South Africa

Researchers sought to understand different types of information asymmetries and how they relate to loan default rates in South Africa. Borrowers given high interest rates had a greater incentive to default as it was more costly to repay the loan, but there was little evidence that borrowers...

Changing Teenage Girls' Aspirations and Educational Attainment through Increased Female Representation in Leadership in India

In 2008, women accounted for 18 percent of parliamentarians worldwide, and only 13 countries had a female head of government. In India, researchers studied the impact of a constitutional amendment that reserved village council leadership positions for women on adolescent girls’ career aspirations...

Providing High-Quality Online Lesson Plans to Improve Student Learning in the United States

Researchers evaluated the impact of providing teachers with access to high-quality online lessons and implementation support on student achievement in mathematics. Providing teachers with access to the lessons, reminders, and implementation support significantly increased student achievement.

The Impact of Sexual Harassment Awareness Training on Attitudes and Norms in India

Karmini Sharma
The researcher evaluated the impact of a sexual harassment training on the incidence of sexual harassment, opposite sex relationships, and attitudes and beliefs towards sexual harassment in India. Overall, the training reduced extreme forms of sexual harassment in the short run and intermediate...

Matching Donations to Increase Charitable Giving in the United States

Altruistic individuals may hesitate to give when they doubt the quality of a charity, but knowing that a high-profile donor supports the charity might alleviate these concerns. Researchers evaluated the impact of publicizing a matching grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on...

Housing Lottery to Increase Demand for Formal Government Housing and Improve Welfare in Ethiopia

In low- to middle-income countries around the world, nearly one billion people lived in urban informal settlements as of 2018. Rapid urbanization in most large African cities has led to both more people and a higher proportion of people living in informal settlements over time. Researchers conducted...