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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.

Vocational Training and Cash Transfers for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship in Kenya

In Kenya, researchers are studying the impacts of a program that combines vocational training with one-time cash grants to boost youth employment and entrepreneurship.

The Effect of Incentive-Based Pay in the Weatherization Assistance Program on Energy Efficiency in Illinois

Paul Francisco
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation of the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP), which aims to improve energy efficiency in low-income households. The study tested the impact of performance-based pay for contractors implementing air sealing retrofits as part of IHWAP...

Enrolling Informal Sector Workers in National Health Insurance in Indonesia

Arianna Ornaghi
Sudarno Sumarto
A key challenge to achieving universal health coverage is that non-poor informal workers are difficult to enroll and retain in government health insurance programs. Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of various programs, including subsidies, registration assistance and...

The Effect of a Contract Teacher Program Scale-up on Student Learning in Kenya

In Kenya, researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of a contract teacher program on student learning outcomes, comparing implementation between an NGO and the government. The NGO-led program improved student test scores, while the government-led version had no impact.

Household Matters: Revisiting the Returns to Capital among Female Micro-entrepreneurs

Researchers re-examined data from previous studies in Ghana, India, and Sri Lanka to better understand the impact of credit and cash grant variations on micro-enterprise profits. Their results suggest that the gender gap in micro-enterprise performance was not due to ability, but rather to women’s...

Divided Payment Schedules to Reduce Regretful Spending in Uganda

In Uganda, where most employees receive their wages in a single monthly payment, researchers are working to evaluate if an alternative, divided payment schedule reduces regretful spending.