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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.

Gender Differences in the Workplace: Evidence from a Tanzanian Factory

In Tanzania, researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of factory employment and different compensation schemes on gender differences in labor market outcomes, taste for competition, and views on social and gender norms.

Promoting Adoption of New Rice Varieties: Addressing the Costs of Early Adoption in Sierra Leone

Jeannie Annan
Charles Dixon
Frances Kimmins
In Sierra Leone, researchers are testing whether price subsidies and agricultural extension training can reduce the costs of early adoption, and whether using the improved seed varieties will ultimately benefit poor farmers.

The Price Effects of Cash Versus In-Kind Transfers in Mexico

Jesse Cunha
Giacomo De Giorgi
When making transfers to poor families, many governments choose to transfer goods rather than cash, often in order to encourage the consumption of specific goods. In southern Mexico, researchers studied the effects of both cash and in-kind transfers on the demand and supply of food. They found that...

Mobile Phone Data Compared to Household Surveys to Evaluate the Impact of Cash Transfers in Togo

Emily Aiken
Suzanne Bellue
In Togo, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the effect of cash grants on people's welfare and if using mobile phone data in impact evaluations yielded the same results as survey data. They found that the cash grant program increased food security, mental health, and self-perceived...

The Impact of Informational Meetings on Secondary School Choice in Kenya

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of short informational meetings with students and parents on secondary school choice. They found that these meetings increased students’ and parents’ knowledge of the application process and led students to pick lower-cost and more...

Impact of Home Computers on the Academic Achievement of Low-Income Children in the United States

Jonathan Robinson
Researchers analyzed the impact of a program that provided students in California with a home computer on students’ academic achievement. The program had no effect (either positive or negative) on any educational outcome, including grades, standardized test scores, and attendance.

Measuring the Critical Window for Cognitive Skill Formation and Physical Development in Nicaragua

John A. Maluccio
In Nicaragua, researchers compared the cognitive and health outcomes of boys whose families received conditional cash transfers in the first three years of their lives to those who received the transfers later. Exposing boys to the program during the first 1,000 days of life led to better cognitive...

Mobilizing Group Membership: The Impact of Personalization and Social Pressure Emails in the United States

James N. Druckman
This study evaluated the efficacy of three different types of emails in encouraging group membership: an impersonal email, a personalized email, and a personalized email that included an element of social pressure. Researchers found that membership increased most among recipients of the social...