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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.

Building Market Linkages for Smallholder Farmers through a Digital Marketplace in Uganda

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation in Uganda to test the impact of a mobile phone-based marketplace for agricultural commodities on local market prices, entry of traders, farmer revenue, and trader profits. Overall, the platform increased trade flows and decreased price variation across...

Information Provision via Mobile Phones to Increase Mobile Banking in Ghana

Researchers partnered with Opportunity International Savings and Loans Limited (OISL) to conduct a randomized evaluation to test the impact of high-frequency interactive voice response (IVR) calls on people’s use of mobile banking services and their financial behaviors in Ghana. People who received...

Designing Contracts for Healthcare Providers in India

Katherine Donato
Manoj Mohanan
Yulya Truskinovsky
Researchers evaluated two types of reward contracts—one that rewarded providers for increased use of inputs and one that rewarded providers for improved health outputs—among rural obstetric care providers in India. They found that both contracts reduced post-partum hemorrhage by 20-23 percent.

Linking Weather Index Insurance and Credit to Improve Agricultural Productivity in Rural Ethiopia

Shukri Ahmed
Alexandros Sarris
Researchers combined subsidized weather index insurance with input loans for fertilizer and modern seed use for smallholder farmers in rural Ethiopia to investigate the impact of these products on demand for insurance and resulting shifts in agricultural technology use and crop yields. Results...

Improving Economic and Psychological Well-being through Unconditional Cash Transfer in Kenya

Charlotte Ringdal
Jeremy Shapiro
Xiao Yu Wang
In Rarieda, Kenya, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of GiveDirectly’s UCT program on poor rural households’ economic and psychological well-being. Results demonstrated that the program had significant welfare-improving impacts, both economically and psychologically...

The Effects of Youth Employment: Evidence from New York City Summer Youth Employment Program Lotteries

Alexander Gelber
Adam Isen
Numerous summer jobs programs in the United States seek to support the employment of young people facing barriers to employment and opportunity. Researchers studied the impact of the New York City Summer Youth Employment Program (which used a lottery to determine participation) on youth earnings...

Improving Immunization Coverage Through Incentives, Reminders, and Social Networks in India

Victor Chernozhukov
Suresh Dalpath
Mert Demirer
Iván Fernández-Val
Matthew Jackson
Francine Loza
Anna Schrimpf
Maheshwor Shrestha
Researchers worked with the state government to evaluate the impact of three programs to build demand for vaccination: local immunization ambassadors, small, non-financial incentives, and tailored SMS reminders. The most effective policy option increased measles vaccination by approximately 55...

The Impact of Deliberative Political Campaigns on Voter Behavior in the Philippines

Cecilia Pe Lero
Gabriel López-Moctezuma
Daniel Rubenson
Researchers partnered with two political parties in the Philippines to evaluate the effect of deliberative campaigns on voter turnout and vote shares. While deliberative town halls did not increase voter turnout, results suggest that they were effective in increasing vote shares by changing voters’...