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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.

The Impact of Phone-based Job Search Assistance on Women's Economic Recovery From the Covid-19 Pandemic in Pakistan

Nivedhitha Subramanian
Kate Vyborny
The economic crisis resulting from COVID-19 is expected to affect women disproportionately. In Pakistan, researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a job search assistance platform on men's and women’s return to searching for jobs and working during the COVID-19...

The Impact of a Public Sector Management Program on Student Learning Outcomes in India

In India, researchers evaluated the impact of a public sector management program involving comprehensive assessments of schools, detailed school ratings, and customized school improvement plans, on school functioning and student learning. Researchers found that the MPSQA program was successful in...

Offering Cash and In-Kind Transfers to Grow and Sustain Microenterprises in Sri Lanka

Researchers provided small one-time grants to microenterprises in Sri Lanka to measure the impact of the additional capital on business profits two and five years later. They found that cash and in-kind grants increased business profits for male owners in the short and long term, but did not lead to...

The Effects of Free Drinking Water Treatment on Child Survival in Kenya

Ricardo Maertens
Brandon Joel Tan
Diarrhea is a leading cause of death in children under the age of 5, but adding small amounts of chlorine into water can treat water and prevent a large number of these deaths. Providing free dispensers for chlorine to treat water reduced under-five mortality. Children living in villages with dilute...

Can Mobile Phones Improve Take-up and Delivery of Maternal Cash Transfer Programs in India?

Researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test whether a phone-based information service can increase take-up of India’s maternity cash transfer programs, and whether phone-based feedback can improve local-level program functioning and child health. Research ongoing; Results forthcoming.

HIV/AIDS Prevention Through Relative Risk Information for Teenage Girls in Kenya

To test the impact of information on teenagers’ sexual decisions, a “Relative Risk Information Campaign” was conducted in 71 schools to give students information about the distribution of HIV infection rates by age and gender groups and discuss the role of cross-generational sex in the spread of HIV...

Providing Health Insurance through Microfinance Networks in Rural Karnataka, India

Richard Hornbeck
Researchers partnered with SKS Microfinance to measure the impact of bundling a health insurance product with microloan renewals on health insurance take-up, and health care use and spending. They found that the requirement to purchase health insurance substantially reduced microcredit clients’ loan...

Expanding Educational Opportunities through a Public-Private Partnership in Pakistan

David Blakeslee
Matthew Hoover
Dhushyanth Raju
Stephen Ryan
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of publicly-funded private primary schools on student enrollment in rural Pakistan. The private school program significantly increased school enrollment, but did not reduce gender disparities among students.